Echo
by Alex Beckett
Summary: Twenty-five years ago, Emily Prentiss gave up a baby girl for adoption, promising to find her again one day. Twenty-five years later, they meet again, although in the most unexpected of ways.
1. Emily

Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss had a great life these days.

She'd been with the Behavioral Analysis Unit for six months now, and was excelling in everything she did, once the initial hiccups and bumps had been hammered out. Her most favorite thing about the job was that she had the best friends, too: Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Penelope Garcia, Spencer Reid, and Jennifer "JJ" Jareau.

They all had special places in her heart, JJ in particular. But that was another story.

Emily loved her friends and her life, and she wouldn't trade it for anything at all.

However...

There was one thing that was always at the back of her mind now. Only JJ and Penelope knew about it.

When she was fifteen, she had been living in Rome with her parents because her mother's occupation was that of ambassador. Because of that, Emily's childhood consisted of her living all over the world, and she had loved it. To a point.

That point was Rome.

Emily was a wild child in her teen years, and she loved to give her parents hell because she got an actual thrill from it. That being said, she was wild because she wanted to fit in. One night, she took things a little too far with one of the local boys, and in the end she got pregnant. She didn't even know the boy's name, and she never saw him again after that.

Needless to say, Emily was very freaked out and had no choice but to tell her parents. To her great surprise, while they were disappointed in her for getting pregnant while in high school, they still helped her decide what to do about it. She wanted the baby so badly, but even with the family money she was born into, Emily wasn't sure if she would be able to raise a baby and finish school. She also didn't want to put the burden of raising her child on her parents, either. They didn't deserve that.

Emily had seriously considered an abortion, but backed out at the last minute, so that left her with one real choice: adoption.

On the night of the fourteenth of February the fourteenth in Rome, Italy, Emily gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Aurora Hope. When she was born, Emily held her, although only for a few minutes and as she gave her hugs in kisses, she promised that she'd find her one day, no matter how long it took.

Well, 'one day' turned into twenty-five years. Emily thought of her sweet Aurora all the time, and still wanted to find her, but since the adoption had been closed and Aurora was an adult now, that meant that she could be anywhere in the world. She could even be married with kids. Emily could very well be a grandmother now.

She would do anything for a chance to even see Aurora again, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Little did Emily know that her chance was very close at hand and about to present itself.

* * *

"Okay, but why _me?"_ Emily protested. "It's almost time to go home!"

"You're the one he's the squirrliest around, he shut Derek down, he beats around the bush with me and JJ, and Hotch and Rossi were the ones who recruited me to figure out what's wrong in the first place!"

"And by your logic, PG, even though though Spencer acts like he's got ants in his pants when he and I are doing something together these days, I'm still the one he'd open up to first?"

Penelope nodded. "You betcha, gumdrop! Now go find him!"

Emily sighed and gave her friend a mock bow before leaving Penelope's techno lair for the hallway.

For the past few weeks, everyone had noticed that Spencer was acting increasingly odd, and more-so than usual. When they were out on cases, they'd just catch him on the tail end of a phone call to someone he knew and from the nature of the call, it was actually personal.

Then there was last Tuesday, when they were back home (the day after solving a case in South Dakota) that they saw him sign off on a package delivery for himself that had come up from the mail room. Only because Doctor Spencer Reid wasn't the kind of guy that got packages at work, his friends asked him what it was, but he avoided answering the question, putting the package in his desk and changing the subject. He was also drinking more coffee than usual, something that the others were leery of because it was like hanging out with an extremely chatty version of the Energizer Bunny.

The biggest change in Spencer's behavior, though, was that instead of looking for reasons to stay late and put in extra hours as he liked to, he actually left at decent hours.

And now, for some reason, Spencer had a very hard time behaving seriously when he was with Emily. The word that came to mind was flighty.

At any rate, it didn't take long for Emily to find Spencer that evening, mostly because his nose was buried in a book, and he almost walked right into her.

"Easy there, cowboy." she put her hands on his shoulders to physically stop him. "Watcha reading?"

Everything happened so fast that it took Spencer a moment to realize who he was talking to, and when he saw it was Emily, he became flustered.

"Emily, hi! I... uh, sorry about that..."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "You still didn't answer my question."

Spencer tried to play dumb, but he was very bad at it. "Question? What question?"

Quick as lightning, Emily plucked the literature from her friend and took a step back to examine it. After she processed what it was, she looked at him, eyes wide.

"Spencer, this is a book on child psychology!"

"Keep it down!" he hissed, taking his book back as he looked around quickly to make sure that nobody overheard them, but the hallway was empty. "I like to read; is that a crime?"

"Of course not, no, but you reading a book on child psychology? I know you believe in expanding your horizons through knowledge, but even _this_ is a little outside of your wheelhouse!"

Spencer tried again to say something, but things were getting lost in translation. "I..."

Emily rolled her eyes. "That's it, buddy! You and I are overdue for a talk!"

"But—"

Emily took Spencer by the wrist and dragged him into the nearest empty room, which also happened to be JJ's office. When they were inside, Emily gave Spencer a shove in the direction of the couch as she shut the door and turned on the light. The momentum of Emily's push had so much force to it that Spencer had no choice but to use the couch to break his fall.

He felt like he was in elementary school again and being sent to the principal's office.

Emily stood before Spencer, eyebrows arched expectantly. "Start talking."

"I've been keeping this quiet because it's brand new territory for me, and I really don't want you guys teasing me, but I have a girlfriend now."

Emily's tune changed immediately and she softened up, feeling almost maternal. "That's _wonderful!"_

"Thanks..."

At that tone, Emily's tune changed yet again, but to concern. "Spencer, I totally get wanting to keep something like this to yourself, but come on: you should at least sound happy! How long have you been with her?"

"For almost three months now, and I'm so in love with her, Emily."

"Well, strike me down right now." the brunette remarked, trying to make light of things. "I never thought I'd hear the day when you straight-up admitted that you're in love with someone."

That actually drew a smile from Spencer. "Is it alright if I ask you something personal?"

That raised even more flags, but she said, "Sure. Go ahead."

"Twenty-five years ago, did you have a baby girl in Rome?"

In the blink of an eye, Emily felt like she'd been doused in cold water and was experiencing shortness of breath as her heart began racing incredibly fast, as it last had on the day that she and JJ had found out that they were going to be parents. On that day, she'd felt joy, but now, she was experiencing that alongside love, hope, fear, and shock.

"Y-You found Aurora?"

Spencer was already on his feet when he saw the color drain from Emily's face, but once she stuttered, he began moving slowly towards her, so as to catch her if her legs gave out.

"Uh-huh, and she's perfect, Emily. _So_ perfect."

"What's going on?"

In all of the activity of the moment, Emily and Spencer had failed to notice that JJ had returned and was on the threshold of her now-open office door. She was feeling very confused.

"All I did was go to to the bathroom. What are you _two_ doing in _here?"_

Emily turned to face her girlfriend, and she opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. When JJ realized that she was crying, she immediately rushed forward and helped Emily sit on the couch. While she did that, Spencer hurried out to the hallway. Not far from JJ's door, there was a water cooler, complete with disposable paper cups.

He hadn't meant to send Emily into a spiral, especially because she no doubt felt Aurora was a ghost, but he was determined to help his friend get back to her usual self.

Emily didn't start talking until after she'd downed the water, although it was with Spencer sitting on a chair in of her, and JJ was beside her on the couch. Their fingers were intertwined, and JJ even had her free hand just below the crook of Emily's elbow.

"Seriously," the pregnant blond addressed her companions. "What the hell is happening?"

Emily turned to her love. "Spencer has a girlfriend, and uh, it's Aurora. _My_ Aurora."

JJ's own heart flip-flopped as she leaned back against the couch cushions and held her hands to her middle, where her offspring lay inside, not ready to be interrupted by the world for many more months yet. Doing that kept her sane as she thought of Aurora. She learned about her on what was already a very emotional day at the end of a case that hadn't ended well for one of the people involved.

JJ had already been feeling sick to her stomach, not realizing until after it was all over that an IVF treatment she'd undergone privately a few weeks earlier, just before deciding to start a relationship with Emily, had actually taken. After stopping at a drug store and paying for a box of what looked like the best pregnancy tests, she went back to the hotel and straight back to the hotel room that she shared with Emily and Penelope, intending to use them right away. Her plan was derailed when she found Emily curled up on their bed, crying her eyes out. The case had had involved the death of a young mother, and everything about it had reminded Emily of Aurora, and she'd spent the week telling herself that she wouldn't cry, but on that last day, the dam finally broke.

Penelope wandered in while JJ was trying to get Emily to consider breathing properly, but she immediately joined in the effort to help calm her down. Emily told them about Aurora after that, but swore them to secrecy about her.

Even still, JJ wanted to meet Aurora as badly as Emily wanted to be reunited with her.

"Oh, my God." JJ finally said as she turned to the man opposite her. "How in the world did that even happen? She's local?"

Spencer nodded. "Aurora lives in Capitol Hill, a few blocks over from the Hotchners, actually. I met her at a coffee shop on a rainy day, and I noticed her because she had all of the materials on her side of the table for a research paper, but she'd stopped to take a break and read."

"What was Aurora reading?"

"Dostoevsky's _Crime And Punishment_ , ironically, and it was in Russian."

Next to JJ, Emily finally spoke. "That's my girl, taking after me after me without even realizing it. I read a lot to her when I was pregnant, and I really loved Russian literature."

"Aurora was thoroughly enjoying her book."

"Did you strike up a conversation with her?"

"Actually, she spoke to me first because she said that when she looked up to see who had joined her at the table, the first thing she noticed was that I was reading Isaac Asimov's _I, Robot._ The rest, as they say, is history."

Emily held her hands in the timeout position. "I'm tracking with you so far, but how did you make the connection between Aurora and myself? Is she a dead ringer for me?"

"No, but she's got your eyes, Emily, and your hair color, and the shape of your face. There are other little things, here and there, but that's why it took me this long to realize it. I didn't believe in love at first sight before I met her, but... now I do."

Emily was dying to know what her daughter did for a living that would make a guy like Spencer fall for her on the spot, but she had a slightly more pressing inquiry.

"Spencer, do you have a picture of Aurora?"

Nodding, Spencer pulled out his wallet and pulled out a small wallet-sized picture and handed it to her. Emily was brought to tears all over again. Aurora did look like her in the ways that Spencer had mentioned, and had touches of her father here, but both of them together had made this wonderful woman. In the picture, she looked like she was dressed for a special event, but even with how she dressed (formal, with her some accessories for flair), all the way down to her glasses, she even looked like someone you'd want to get to know.

"You can keep the picture, Emily." Spencer told her. "She would want you to."

Passing the picture to JJ, she asked him, "What does she do for a living?"

"She teaches kindergarten at George Washington Elementary School, and she loves it."

Emily felt her heart swell with pride. "I love that she's a teacher. Does she know that she was adopted?"

"She does."

"I know she's in her twenties, but does she ever wonder about me?"

Spencer just nodded.

"Is she pregnant?" JJ asked, gesturing towards Spencer's book. "You wouldn't read something about _child psychology_ unless she was... or unless she _already_ has a child."

Spencer nodded bashfully. "That's also a long story that she should be the one to tell, but she has a three-year-old named Alice Rose. She's incredibly smart and loves when we read to her."

As the profiler spoke about his girlfriend's daughter, it was easy to see that he adored her.

"Do you have a picture of Alice?" Emily asked.

"Just this one," Spencer took another photo out of his wallet and handed it to her. "But here."

Emily's heart filled with love as soon as she saw her granddaughter. With her rounded face, fair skin, and big brown eyes and long brown hair, dazzling smile that Emily actually recognized along with a familiar shaped nose, Emily felt like she was looking at a little doll. She wore glasses like her mother did, and she was dressed in what Emily guessed was a preschool uniform, but even still, she looked very happy.

"She's beautiful." Emily complimented as JJ nodded in agreement when she saw the picture. "You said she likes books?"

Spencer nodded, taking back the photo and putting it away when Emily handed it back. "Yep, and her favorite stories are Matilda and Alice In Wonderland. Aurora said she named her after that Alice, actually."

"Is her father in the picture at all?"

"No, but that's a story I'd rather let Aurora tell." Spencer said. "Alice has never known him, though. She, uh, she actually calls _me_ daddy."

"Awww." Emily and JJ cooed in unison.

"But I actually do love Alice like that, so I don't mind it."

"Spencer," Emily said in a sudden semi-warning tone. "If you ever break my grandbaby's heart, or my daughter's, I will kick your ass."

"And I'll help." JJ added.

Spencer caught their drift quickly. "Neither of you have to worry about that because I love Aurora and Alice too much to even dream of doing that. Those two are the whole world to me."

Emily briefly wondered just when Spencer was going to become her son-in-law (boy, was that a weird thought) because the writing was on the wall, but instead of asking about that, she asked something that she hadn't had the courage to ask until now.

"Do you know if Aurora would want to meet me?"

"She would, but I'd have to explain things to her first. I'm sure you understand."

Emily nodded. "I do, and after twenty-five years, I know I can wait a little bit longer."

Spencer smiled, seeing light in Emily's eyes that he'd never seen before.

"Actually," he glanced at his watch and stood when he noticed what time it was. "I'm about to head over there, and since it's Friday and we have the weekend off, I'll be hanging out with my family until Monday."

Both Emily and JJ noticed when he said the words 'my family,' but didn't comment about it.

"Maybe something will happen and Aurora will call you before then."

As Emily and her girlfriend stood, she said, "I really hope so, but remind Aurora that she shouldn't feel obligated to agree to anything."

"I will." Spencer said before looking from him to JJ and back again as he gathered his things up. "Will you two promise to not tell anyone about this until Monday, at least?"

Again, the women spoke in unison. "We promise."

"Thank you."

"Spencer?" Emily said his name in a question.

"Thank _you."_ she threw her arms around him in a hug. "You have _no_ idea how much this means to me."

He hugged her back, a surprising move for someone who had never been into that kind of thing. "You are very welcome, Emily."

Twenty minutes later, after collecting his jacket and scarf off his desk, Spencer was in his car and on his way to Aurora's house.

This was already shaping out to be a very interesting Friday night.


	2. Aurora

Aurora Hope Van Koek, or simply 'Rory' to those who knew her best, was a very happy person in general, and that was one of the things that everybody loved about her. She had a love for life, laughter, and being kind to others. She was the kind of person who could light the whole room up just by walking into it and even make you smile when you couldn't bring yourself to do it.

After being adopted at one month old from a children's home in Rome by a young couple from New York City, she went on to have live a happy and privileged life, sailing through school and graduating from everything with top marks.

The only real hiccup Aurora personally experienced was just over three years ago in the form of a barista at Aurora's once-favorite café back home. The man's name was Wyatt Scoggins, and Aurora fell for him because he was very charming and seemed to always be working whenever she came in to work on her essays and papers for school. He would also refill her coffee, remind her to eat, and sometimes, when his boss wasn't looking, he'd slip her a free cookie, too. Wyatt would even work the overnight shifts when Aurora would come in to pull all-nighters.

One thing led to another, and they started going out.

Then Aurora blinked and the next thing she knew, she was pregnant at the age of twenty-two. Of course, she was very surprised, but remembering that her birth mother had given her up so she could have a good life, she became very excited, very quickly after that. Aurora wasn't sure that Wyatt would be happy because he was a lot closer than she was at the time, but when she told him, he became very excited about raising a baby with her. They even got a place together.

But then they found out that they were expecting a baby girl, and Wyatt lost all interest, dumping Aurora as he claimed that "little girls weren't worth it like sons could be."

Aurora never saw or heard from Wyatt Scoggins again after that and while it broke her heart, she was over the moon to have a baby to love. Her family was a huge help, too.

How she ended up in Quantico, Virginia was a different story, though.

* * *

Fast forward three years, and she had a precious, beautiful, wildly intelligent, and very curious little girl named Alice Rose. They were happy and living in a beautiful two story purple house in a neighborhood-within-a-neighborhood called Noir Crescent. The neighborhood was old, beautiful, and in a perfect area to raise a family. It was everything she had ever wanted for Alice.

And now, Doctor Spencer Benjamin Reid was in their lives, and she loved him dearly.

Their three month anniversary was very soon, but in spite of all of his offbeat, peculiar ways and because of his love for her and him stepping up the plate to be a good father figure to Alice, Aurora knew in a heartbeat now that she could spend the rest of her life with Spencer. She also knew he felt that way about her because they'd actually discussed it before. Their lives together were a little fast-paced, but they still knew they were it for each other and wouldn't have it any other way.

Both of them together, with Alice, were a family and she had never been happier.

* * *

"Mommy, no! _Don't!"_

"Alice Rose, there's a _spider_ under that jar!"

"Yep! No smashin' Eddie!"

Aurora stared at her daughter in surprise; like her, Alice revered life, but that also came with an instinct to protect any living thing... regardless of the species.

Of course _her_ kid would name a _spider._

"You named a spider? Don't be ridiculous."

Aurora was one to talk, though: she and Alice were in the kitchen, and the second Alice had spotted the spider, Aurora had let out a shriek and leapt on to a chair. That was already five minutes ago.

"What are we not being ridiculous about?" a new voice asked.

In all of the excitement, neither mother nor daughter had noticed Spencer pull into the driveway and come in through the back door, where he stopped to hang up his things and store his gun in the closet safe. Spencer was now standing in the doorway, taking in the scene and trying to put together why Aurora was looking slightly freaked out and why Alice looked like the cat that had eaten the canary.

"Alice caught a spider in a jar." Aurora shuddered. "Whose kid does that?"

"Ours."

The profiler answered her in a tone of barely-concealed amusement before crossing the room to Alice and her... treasure.

"Ladybug, what did you name it?"

"Eddie!" she answered proudly.

"That's a pretty cool name."

Grabbing a junk mail flyer from the nearby counter, Spencer slid it carefully under the jar, still trapping the arachnid, and held it up for examination. He even crouched down so Alice would be able to see better.

"Actually, this isn't _quite_ a spider." he told her.

That caught Alice's interest immediately and she pressed close to Spencer, slinging an arm around his shoulder for balance.

Spencer had realized awhile ago that Alice was very interested in earth science and things like that, so he decided to cultivate her interests by introducing her to The Magic School Bus books and cartoon. Alice fell even more in love with science and from there on out, Spencer took every chance he could to teach her something about the world around her.

"What is it, daddy?" Alice asked.

"It's called a daddy long legs."

The little girl had a titter at that and pressed, "What's the _realer_ name?"

"Pholcus phalangioides."

Alice tried to repeat what Spencer had said, but gave up, instead asking, "We can keep Eddie?"

"Sorry, but we have let Eddie outside before mommy freaks out any further."

This whole time, Aurora had yet to move off her chair. She just wanted the wretched creature out of her house already.

Seeing this, Alice heaved a dramatic sigh. "Mommy is _way_ silly."

"I agree with you there." Spencer told her sincerely. "Will you open the back door, please?"

Alice nodded and left the room to do as asked. Spencer followed close behind her.

After a successful release, Alice hugged Spencer around the knees before wandering off to entertain herself in another room. Spencer, meanwhile, discarded the junk mail flyer and rinsed out the jar in the sink; if Aurora could put up with his weird technophobe hang-ups, he would certainly put up with her arachnophobia.

"How are you, besides that little fright just now?" he asked her after she finally stepped down from the chair and they kissed each other hello.

"Quite thrilled," Aurora stood on her tiptoes and snuck in another kiss. "Especially considering what tomorrow is."

"Our three month anniversary, although it already feels like a year to me."

Aurora beamed at that. "It feels like that to me, too."

Spencer was going to follow that up with something else but didn't get a chance because he was derailed two very pleasant-smelling food aromas.

"Babe, whatever you've got cooking in the oven, it smells about done."

Aurora had been lasagne and garlic bread baking in the oven; that was going to be part of their meal for the evening. Remembering how time-sensitive the food was, she dashed over to the oven and retrieved with her oven mitts before they burned.

* * *

Over dinner, Spencer had gotten quiet once he and his girls had fallen into a lull. Aurora noticed it immediately, but before she could say anything, her phone vibrated in her pants pocket, signaling a new text. She removed the mobile device and read the message, her face falling by the time she got to the end of the message.

"Oh, darn!"

"What is it?" Spencer asked.

"Doctor Cushing just asked me if we can move the meeting we had scheduled for Monday to tomorrow because a family obligation just arose that she can't get out of."

Alongside being a kindergarten teacher, Aurora was working hard to get her Master's Degree through Park University, as it had a better program than the university she'd first attended back home. Doctor Avery Cushing was her advisor.

"Do you have all of your materials ready?"

"Yeah," Aurora sighed. "But I also wanted to hang out with you and Alice tomorrow."

Spencer did his best to cheer her up. "Your meeting will only be for _part_ of the day. I can take Alice to the library and out to lunch."

At the mention of the library, Alice looked up from her food and over at Spencer.

"We can play chess?"

Spencer chuckled at her inquiry. One day, because Alice had been curious, she climbed up onto his lap to watch him play a game of chess against Aurora. As it went on, Alice became fascinated, so Spencer decided to teach her, and she took to it like a fish to water. The library Spencer had mentioned was the local children's library, and there was a particular area of it that housed both a life-sized checkerboard and chessboard. Both were complete with life-sized pieces that were about as big as Alice, but she didn't let that get in the way of playing.

"We can _definitely_ play chess, but if someone is playing before we get there, we have to wait our turn."

Alice nodded in agreement and went back to her food.

"See?" Spencer said, turning back to Aurora. "We'll be fine. Go ahead and tell Doctor Cushing you can see her."

Aurora gave Spencer a smile and after she spent a response, she put her phone away.

When she looked over at her love again, she saw the distant look in his eyes again and thought again of how to ask him what was on his mind, but was yet again interrupted: Alice had decided that it was way too quiet, so she took off all of her clothes and ran through the house, just to stir things up. She hadn't counted on being caught before getting to the front door, and she certainly didn't count on a one-way ticket to the bathroom because she had managed to get very filthy before her parents caught up with her.

One of the many traditions that Spencer had started soon after dating Aurora was to bring back souvenirs for her and Alice. In almost three months, Aurora and Alice had quite the collections. The BAU team's most recent had taken them to Atlanta, and Spencer brought back a few jars of peach preserves for them because their favorite fruit was peaches. Both of them were thankful, but so excited was Alice that she got her second wind and started explaining in great detail what she wanted for breakfast in the morning.

Alice eventually talked herself out and fell asleep five minutes into story time.

About an hour later, after Spencer and Aurora finished cleaning up from dinner, Aurora went straight to the couch to put her feet up because even aside from the spider incident, she'd had an eventful day at school.

Spencer also knew that it was now or never to tell Aurora about Emily, and also that the best way to tell her would be to ease her into it.

"Wine, huh?"

"Mhm." Spencer nodded as he joined her on the couch, carrying a wine glass in each hand. "I found something out today that you're going to want to hear."

Aurora trusted Spencer with her life, so when he told her something like that and offered her wine, she took him very seriously.

"What is it?" she finally asked after they both had wine in their systems.

Thankful that their glasses were already on the coffee table, Spencer took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Rory, I found your birth mother."

Aurora froze immediately, feeling like she'd been slammed into a brick wall and felt a strong torrent of emotions in the space of about fifteen seconds. The only sound that was heard in those fifteen seconds was the pitter-patter of the rain that had started outside.

Aurora's brief pause felt like an eternity to them both.

"What?" she finally gasped as her eyes filled with tears. "You _found_ her? _Where? H-how?"_

"I didn't make the connection until this past case, actually, but she's actually someone on my team at work."

Aurora knew full well of what Spencer did for a living, but also that he preferred to keep his work life and his home life separate. She completely respected that, but it also meant she didn't know too many details about the lives of the people he worked with.

That also meant that didn't know their names.

"Spencer, do I look like her? Is she beautiful?"

"She is _very_ beautiful, and you look a lot like her."

Spencer pulled a picture from his shirt pocket and handed it to Aurora.

"That picture was taken about a month after we met her. She's on the right."

Aurora's big brown eyes filled with tears as she took in the sight of her mother for the first time.

"That's my mom?" Aurora was holding the picture in one hand and wiping her tears with her free hand. "She's gorgeous! What's her name?"

"Emily Prentiss."

"Emily..." Aurora tried her mother's name out and smiled. "I almost named Alice that."

She looked at the picture again, studying it more.

"So that's you and Emily hanging out at what looks like a bar, but who's that on your other side?"

"That's JJ, and she's on our team, too. She and Emily treat me like their little brother."

"That's adorable."

Spencer smiled at that. "JJ is also Emily's girlfriend."

Personally, Aurora didn't have anything against same-sex relationships at all, and because this was news about about her mother, she lit up with joy.

"Emily found her happy ending? Oh, I'm so happy for her..."

Aurora really was happy to find all this out about her mother, but that, on top of realizing that she was a local, proved to be a system overload, and she burst into tears.

"Come here." Spencer beckoned to her. "Please let me hold you."

That sounded like a great idea to Aurora, so in a matter of moments, she and Spencer were stretched out on the couch together. She was leaning against him with her head resting comfortably in the crook of his neck while Spencer wrapped one arm around Aurora's waist, holding her close. With the other hand, Spencer caressed Aurora's hair; it seemed to be calming her down.

"I want to meet my mom." Aurora said when her tears finally stopped together. "Does she know that I'm local, too? Does she know about us?"

"Yes on both accounts."

"Does _she_ want to meet _me?"_

"More than anything, Rory, but she's happy to give you space."

Aurora had known from an early age that she was adopted because her adoptive parents had never kept that from her. That being said, her adoption had been a closed one and she had never known anything at all about Emily until now. She didn't know if she had the willpower to wait past the weekend.

"Well," Aurora laughed softly. "I hope she doesn't freak out, but if she agrees, I want to have her over on Sunday for dinner. I'll cook for her."

Aurora was a very good cook, but that was another story.

"What about Luuk and Jessica?"

"I'll call them, so don't worry."

She moved closer to Spencer, so content to be in the arms of her anchor, her forever.

How she loved him so.

"They're going to be so happy, though."

Luuk and Jessica Van Koek were Aurora's adoptive parents, as well as the parents of Aurora's three younger siblings. The elder Van Koeks were back in Manhattan, still residing in the house that Aurora had grown up in. On the day that they sat Aurora down to tell her that she was adopted, one of the things they'd told her that the moment she was ready to find out about her birth parents (if she ever wanted to), they would support her all the way and offer any emotional or financial help that she needed. Aurora already loved Luuk and Jessica unconditionally because they had chosen her and wanted her out of all of the other children back in the group home in Italy, but by the time that that chat was done, she loved them both even more than she had to begin with.

"Do you want to call them now?"

"In a few minutes." Aurora decided. "Will you keep holding me for a few more minutes?"

"Sure." Spencer kissed Aurora on the top of her head and gave her a back rub. "I can do that."

"Thank you, Spencer." Aurora sighed happily. "I love you."

This wasn't the first time that either of them had said that to each other, but even still, they only said it because they meant it. And it gave both of them stomach butterflies.

Spencer kissed Aurora again. "I love you, too."

The two of them laid together for a little while longer, happy in their own bubble, and enjoying the sound of the rain outside.


	3. Only If For A Night

Meanwhile, Emily and JJ were back at their house.

Both had had dinner and were now in the living room, relaxing together and enjoying each other's company. Their most recent case had taken them to Atlanta and had put the whole team through the wringer, emotionally and physically. Since it was Friday, Hotch had given them the rest of the day and the whole weekend off so they could all recharge.

JJ and Emily were taking advantage of this by having a quiet night night in, and since they were inseparable most of the time, it came to no surprise that they ended up on the couch together, doing different things.

Although it was an odd combination, JJ was putting one of her favorite hobbies to use and knitting the beginnings of a baby blanket while watching ESPN on the TV, catching the sports highlights of the week. It didn't seem like it, but quiet Jennifer 'Pennsylvania Petite' Lily Jareau was a sports nut.

Not minding the background noise, Emily was reading a Russian copy of Tolstoy's _Anna Karenina._

Or… she was trying to.

She'd been trying not to think about Aurora and even Alice because even though she was thrilled about her daughter and that she even had a grandbaby, thinking about them would keep her awake all night, and she was already quite tired.

Being able to read her companion like a book, JJ put the TV on mute and turned to Emily.

"What are you thinking?" JJ asked her. "I can see the cogs turning in your brain."

"Something's just dawned on me," Emily said as she set her book down. "And it affects you to a degree, Jennifer."

Still knitting, but quite surprised by the use of her actual name, JJ raised her eyebrow. "What, exactly, is the thought, Em?"

"Aurora is only two years younger than you because she's the same age as Spencer, and she has a toddler; does that weird you out?"

"Hm." JJ hummed. "I guess in all of the excitement, I hadn't even thought of that yet."

And she really hadn't: she and Emily were already nine years apart, but her sister had been six years older than her, and she had a brother over in Alexandria who was ten years her senior. Even her parents had had a bit of an age gap.

"No." she finally said.

"No?" Emily echoed in surprise. "Even though you and I are becoming a family?"

JJ nodded. "Age is just a number, my love, and I'm sure that when it's my turn to meet Aurora, it'll be something we can work on if it gets weird."

Emily kissed JJ on the cheek. "Thank you."

JJ smiled at the kiss. "I want to meet Aurora, but what if she doesn't want to meet me?"

"Are you concerned that Aurora might be hesitant because we're both gay?"

"Mhm."

Emily gently cupped JJ's cheek in her hand. "You can relax, Jayje. Spencer would have said something if Aurora wasn't accepting of that."

JJ visibly relaxed. "I suppose that's true. What do we do now, though? Is it your move, or hers?"

"Hers, but…"

"Yes?" JJ kindly prompted.

"I have to see my parents. Tonight."

Elizabeth and Harrison Prentiss were Emily's parents, and both of them still resided at Emily's childhood home in Georgetown.

"I totally understand."

Putting aside her knitting, JJ picked up Emily's phone from the side table where she'd left it earlier and handed it to her.

"Here you go."

Emily didn't want her parents to hear her because she was a slightly unstable mess at the moment, so instead of calling her mother, she tapped the icon that looked like a speech bubble and quickly sent a text to her.

 _Are you and dad home?_

Elizabeth's answer was prompt. _Yes. We've been here all night and have no plans for tomorrow._

 _May I come over?_

 _Sure. Is everything okay?_

 _I'll tell you when I get there. See you in 20 minutes._

 _Okay, darling. See you soon._

Emily put her phone in lock-screen mode and put it into her sweater pocket and stood, stretching as she did.

"Emily," JJ said cautiously. _"Are_ you going to spend time with Elizabeth and Harrison?"

Emily nodded and turned to face her. "Probably the night, too."

"Is there anything you need?"

"I'm going to go back a new bag since all of our clothes from Georgia are still dirty, but will you drop me off at my parents' house?"

JJ was on her feet immediately. "Of course…"

Emily smiled thankfully, but immediately noticed JJ's hesitancy.

"Talk to me, JJ."

"Well, now that Aurora is back and is with _Spencer,_ you and I are going to have to seriously come clean about how many kids we're actually expecting."

Emily held her hands to her middle and smiled at firmness she felt there. Because she really loved JJ and they both knew that they'd be spending the rest of their lives together, the same week they found out about JJ's pregnancy, Emily expressed the desire to give the baby a sibling. Quite surprised, but deeply touched that Emily would even offer, especially because she was in her late thirties, JJ agreed and the next thing they knew, they were being shown a sonogram of a healthy, thriving baby.

As of now, JJ was at thirteen weeks, and Emily was at ten.

"Fair enough, but since your mother and your brother both _guessed_ it when we saw them during Sandy's visit last week, I'm telling my parents tonight. We can tell Aurora when we meet her, but I still want to wait until Monday to tell the rest of the team."

"Deal." JJ agreed. "What if Aurora gets weirded out to be getting siblings more than twenty years younger than her?"

Emily shrugged. "I'd like to think that she wouldn't be, but I don't know her. If there's a hiccup, or something, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

JJ felt better after that.

* * *

Though it was a short walk between JJ's car and Emily's parents' front porch, she was quite soaked by the time she rang the doorbell.

Elizabeth Prentiss opened the door and let her in.

"Emily, sweetheart, you didn't have to ring the doorbell."

"Sorry, mother." she said as Elizabeth shut the door behind her. "My brain kind of shut down because that rain is _really_ cold."

"Oh, don't worry." Elizabeth sighed in a motherly way as she took Emily's traveling bags off her and peeled her out of her jacket. "Let's get you dry before before we start talking about what it was that you wanted to tell us."

The reminder of the purpose of her visit made Emily's bottom lip tremble because being in her parents' home and carrying the secrets she did was already making her heart flip-flop.

"Okay…"

"What _happened_ to you?"

Emily answered her mother's question with one of her own as she looked around. "Where's dad?"

"Upstairs, putting fresh blankets on your bed because we figured you might want to spend the night; your text gave off that vibe." Elizabeth glanced at the staircase directly behind her. "Shall I call him now?"

"No." Emily shook her head and picked her duffel bag back up. "Let him finish. I'm going to go to the bathroom to change into something dry and warm to wear. Will you make sure he brings extra blankets?"

There was a small bathroom near the basement that would be perfect because all of a sudden, Emily didn't have the energy to go further than the first floor. The warmer blankets were kept in a closet upstairs in the main hall.

"Yes," Elizabeth said in response to her daughter's request. "And if you put your things in the laundry chute, we'll make sure that they're dry in due time."

"Thanks, mother."

Elizabeth stared after her daughter as she left the room, just thinking. True, she and Harrison hadn't seen Emily in awhile and though she loved her daughter with her whole heart because she was her child, the last time she'd seen Emily this rattled was twenty-five, almost twenty-six years ago.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Harrison Prentiss was a kind, handsome, slightly older gentleman who held the positions of mathematics professor and head of the mathematics department at the local college. He loved his job because he loved to teach, but he loved his wife and his daughter way more, and whenever either of them were sad or upset, he always did whatever he could to make it right.

Such was the case when he saw Emily for the first time that night.

Her was in a ponytail and she wasn't wearing any makeup, either, so that was a warning sign, but the bigger one was that she was wearing a tank top, sweatpants, and a hoodie. Neither of the elder Prentisses had seen Emily dressed like that in years and years.

Emily also looked like she'd been crying recently, so Harrison lovingly draped a blanket around his offspring's shoulders as she sat in the chair closest to the couch and gave her a kiss on the crown of her head. That earned him a smile, so Harrison sat beside Elizabeth on the sofa, whereupon she immediately offered him one of the three glasses of wine she'd poured. She had one in hand already and had had a few sips because she'd had a feeling that she was going to need it; it wasn't often that Emily showed up to the house unannounced. There was a glass of wine for Emily, too, but even if she wasn't pregnant, she wouldn't have touched it just yet because she really wanted a clear head until she'd finally explained everything.

"Emily Simone, what's the matter?" Harrison asked before having a quick sip of his wine and swallowing it. "Have you and JJ gotten in a fight?"

"Goodness, no. Things have actually never been better between us, actually, and that's _really_ good because I don't know how she and I would manage to go about our lives without each other now."

Hearing this, Emily's parents were both glad they were sitting and promptly put their glasses back on the coffee table in front of them. They were already giving Emily their utmost attention and hanging on to every word.

"My colleague, Spencer, told me today that he has a new girlfriend, but the most surprising thing is who it is."

"Who?" Elizabeth pressed.

"It's _Aurora."_

Emily's words hung in the air as her parents gaped at her in surprise. They had often wondered about Aurora over the years and what had become of her, but they never mentioned it to Emily because it always made her too sad.

This was _definitely_ going to be a long night.

"Really, Emily?" Elizabeth asked at length.

Emily nodded. "Spencer said he didn't make the connection until recently, but he knows it's her. He even asked me if I had a baby girl in Rome twenty-five years ago."

Harrison spoke up, wanting a point of clarification. "You two have said that Spencer is the youngest one on the team and is a technophobe who is gifted with an encyclopedic knowledge of… _everything?"_

Again, Emily nodded. "Mother met him when she brought us a case last year and she likes him, but you would, too, dad. Spencer is one of the gentlest men I've ever known, and both JJ and I love him like a brother and would do anything for him."

Having already met JJ awhile back and taken an immediately liking to her, Harrison was even further impressed with Emily's taste in friends.

"Now I have to meet him."

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was thinking of a matter other than the one her husband was. "Emily, is Aurora local, then?"

"She lives in Capitol Hill, maybe even the same area that JJ and I do."

"And Capitol Hill is only three-and-a-half miles from here…"

Seeing that Elizabeth was in a slight daze, Emily broke it quickly by showing them the picture that Spencer had given her.

"I got this from Spencer to keep." she handed the picture to her mother. "That's my girl. That's my Aurora Hope."

Emily watched as her parents turned to mush over the picture and gush over how beautiful Aurora was, but when they saw that Emily was on the brink of having some kind of meltdown, they put the picture down on the table and stood with her, wanting to support her, just in case she collapsed.

"Take a breath." Elizabeth cooed to her. "That's all you have to do."

Emily inhaled and exhaled shakily before speaking; this was all getting _quite_ real.

"Aurora has a three-year-old girl named Alice Rose; I'm a _grandparent,_ and you two are _great-grandparents."_

Elizabeth and Harrison were very surprised by that, but Harrison found his voice first.

"Do you have a picture of Alice, Emily?"

"I don't, but I've seen it, and I can promise you that Alice is her mommy's clone. She even wears glasses like Aurora does."

Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she thought of what she had to say next. Taking a small step back and unzipping her hoodie, Emily framed her middle with her hands.

"L-look at this."

She stuttered because she was nervous, but now that her bump was even more apparent, Elizabeth and Harrison got the message immediately. They were temporarily speechless with joy.

"I love JJ more than anyone I've ever been with, and she feels the same way about me, so we will get married at some point." Emily told them. "In the meantime, we're just doing things a little out of order."

"You're having a baby with her?" Elizabeth asked happily.

"Yes, and I'm already big because I've had a baby before, but the little one is very healthy."

Emily's parents hugged her and congratulated her, happy to be getting another grandchild.

"Is JJ pregnant, too?" Harrison asked in a joking tone as he and Elizabeth pulled away.

"She is."

Harrison was taken aback. "You're not messing with us, are you?"

"I wouldn't do that about something like this." Emily reassured him. "I'm one hundred percent telling the truth, and JJ is even a little further along than I am."

"What?" Elizabeth interjected. "We must have her over for breakfast in the morning, but how much further ahead of you _is_ she?"

Before Emily could answer, she felt her stomach rumble and she put both hands to it again, blowing out a breath.

"Can I have something to eat first?"

"Of course, little one." Elizabeth took Emily by the hand, leading her towards the kitchen. "We will make you whatever you want."

The trio spent the next two hours hanging out in the kitchen, eating and making a late-night snack as they discussed everything from their family's abrupt expansion to Aurora and Alice, to just catching up since it had been some time since they were all together in the same place.

Emily was happy to be home, even if it was only for a night.


	4. Saturday

Alice Van Hoek adored her mother and loved her dearly because she had, for her entire life, been her whole world. Until recently.

Spencer was the 'recently' part, but Alice didn't mind because she found him fascinating to no end and thought he was the smartest man she'd ever met. She also loved that he loved her and that he made her mother's heart happy.

At any rate, one of her most favorite things in life these days was when she and Spencer would go and hang out at the library.

That's where they were today.

* * *

After playing on the giant chessboard, they were taking a moment to pause and sit on the big, oversized armchair in the room that housed the children's books. This was the duo's favorite spot because it gave them a view of the surrounding street, and even the small park across the way. They were also on the second floor of the building, allowing them to watch the rain as it cascaded down the large picture window.

Spencer was honestly mesmerized by the rain, but when he checked on Alice, he noticed that she wasn't taking the scene in quite the same way he was.

"What are you thinking, Ladybug?" Spencer asked her.

The three-year-old looked up at him. "You love mommy?"

"Very much."

Alice pointed to herself. "What about me?"

"Of course." he pulled her in close for a hug. "I love you very much, Alice Rose. Why do you ask?"

"I want a bro or sis."

At that, Spencer felt himself raising his eyebrows; true, though he and Aurora had been together for a short amount of time, they both loved each other deeply and knew that there was no chance of them breaking up. They both loved Alice, and Spencer was enjoying the crash course in parenting that he was receiving, but they hadn't reached the point of talking about Alice not being an only child.

"Really?"

Alice nodded. "Yep, and..."

Her words trailed off and she burst into giggles.

"What?" Spencer asked warily.

Getting control of herself, Alice replied, _"Rebbie's_ mommy has a baby in her tummy!"

'Rebbie,' short for Rebel, was Alice's best friend in the world, and according to Aurora, the two had known each other for literally their entire lives to date. No wonder Alice wanted a sibling: she wanted to be just like her best friend.

"Well, Rebel's mother decided that it was time to add to their family." Spencer told her in a matter-of-fact way. "All babies come when their parents wish on wishing stars for them."

Alice opened her mouth to respond, but Spencer's words had struck her in such a profound way that she settled on silence and elected to not say anything just yet, so Spencer continued.

"You know what, though, Ladybug? Before I met you and your mommy, I spent a lot of time wishing for someone who made my heart happy."

That was true, but he just hadn't told anyone at the BAU about it because he was afraid of getting teased. In fact, until telling Emily and JJ about Aurora and Alice, the only person in his innermost circle who knew about them was his mother, Diana, and she lived all the way out on the other side of the country in Las Vegas.

"I wished for someone who made my heart happy, and then I met your mommy at the coffee place."

Again, Alice didn't say anything, but a giggle escaped her lips. She so loved hearing the story of how her mother had met Spencer.

"When I met your mama, she told me about you and then we met. Do you remember?"

Alice nodded emphatically. "At Goli's Place!"

The establishment she was talking about was actually called Fagoli's Place, but Spencer didn't have the heart to correct her.

"Mhm, and you know what?"

"No, daddy." Alice returned honestly.

Spencer scooped her into his lap. "You are the best surprise I've ever gotten."

Alice trilled happily. "Because of wishing stars?"

As Alice looked up at him, waiting for an answer, Spencer looked at her, just appreciating how adorable she was. Today, she was dressed in a green long-sleeved dress and white stockings, with ladybug-themed rain boots. Her long brown hair was even done in two separate fishtail braids down the back, and the lenses of her polka-dotted framed glasses were surprisingly smudge-free.

Since Aurora had had to be out the door early, Spencer had gotten Alice ready for the day all by himself, and he felt very pleased with himself.

Remembering that Alice was waiting for an answer, Spencer gave her one. "Exactly, Alice Rose. You're the best surprise I've ever gotten because of wishing stars."

Alice hugged Spencer close. "I love you, daddy!"

"I love you, too." he reciprocated the hug. "Do you want to go look for books about stars?"

"Okay!"

Excited, she slid off the couch and hurried to the area of the room that had all of the science books.

* * *

Aurora called Spencer when he and Alice were at lunch.

"Hey, babe." she greeted him. "How's it going?"

"Pretty great, and Alice has been having fun all day long."

Aurora smiled even though Spencer couldn't see her. "Where are you at the moment?"

"At the mall: Alice was very hyper after we got out of the library, so I figured, why not make sure she eats before she burns off all that energy, too? She's playing on the playground—the one that looks like a treehouse with a ball pit."

"Thinking like a parent already, huh? Taking her to one of her favorite places to eat _and_ to one of her favorite places to play? Alice will be sleeping like the dead tonight."

Aurora's tone on the 'sleeping like the dead' part was laced with deeper meaning, and for once, it didn't go over Spencer's head.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked her.

Aurora laughed in minxish way—neither of them were strangers to each other in bed. "Oh, for sure."

"Aurora," Spencer said suddenly. "Aren't you with Doctor Cushing?"

"Yeah, but we're on a lunch break and she left to get lunch from the café area just down the hallway."

She paused briefly.

"Spencer?"

"Yes?"

"I've been thinking about my mom."

They both knew she meant Emily.

Spencer sat up a little straighter on the long, wraparound cushy vinyl bench provided for the parents to sit on. "Oh?"

"Uh-huh. I want to have her over for dinner tomorrow, and I want Alice to meet her, but do you think you'd be able to keep Alice occupied for the rest of the night?"

"If today is any indication, then taking care of her tomorrow should be easy, too. And fun." Spencer told her. "I'll bring her back to my place after so you can spend more time with Emily."

"Don't worry, silly goose, you can bring her back to mine. I don't think Emily would mind."

Aurora sounded like she wanted to say something else after that, but ended up sighing. "I can see Doctor Cushing on her way back already, so I guess I should go. Will you tell Emily to come to Noir Crescent at six tomorrow night?"

Noir Crescent was the name of Aurora's neighborhood, but that was what they affectionately called her house because it was the biggest one and also the last one on the lane, kind of a ways away from the others. But that was another story.

"Noir Crescent at six." the profiler echoed. "Got it."

The lovebirds expressed their 'I love yous' and told each other happy anniversary before hanging up.

After checking on Alice and making sure she was keeping out of mischief, Spencer called Emily.

"Spencer, hi!" she greeted him, having seen his name on the screen of her own phone. "What's up?"

"Aurora wants to have you over for dinner tomorrow night, just you and her."

"Really?" Emily was genuinely surprised that her daughter was reaching out to her already, but was, nonetheless, very excited. "Time and place?"

"1175 Jabberwocky Lane, and she specified six in the evening. Her house is the purple one at the very end."

"Her street is really called _Jabberwocky_ in a neighborhood with the word _noir_ in the name?"

"She told me that that was half the reason she chose the house; you should see all of the books she has, Emily." Spencer laughed. "We call the house itself Noir Crescent, too. You'll understand when you see it."

"You said we." Emily teased lightly. "I'll never be over that, but only because I'm just so happy for you and because you found my daughter."

"Thanks, Emily." Spencer smiled. "That means a lot to me."

Emily was already at home and having a movie marathon with JJ, the current one was Dirty Dancing. JJ was beside her on the couch, and their favorite foods were spread out on the coffee table, setting the mood even more. Now that Spencer was calling in regards to Aurora, Emily's pregnancy hormones were on even more of a roller coaster than they had been to begin with.

So as to distract herself and to keep from accidentally freaking Spencer out, Emily asked, "What flowers does Aurora like besides roses?"

"Lilies. She loves lilies, too."

"And does dear Alice have anything that she really loves?"

"She loves anything to do with science, especially The Magic School Bus, chess, and ladybugs."

"Science, chess, and ladybugs? Are you sure she's only three?"

Spencer laughed. "I'm quite sure."

"Then tell Aurora that I'll be at Noir Crescent at six tomorrow."

"Will do."

* * *

Aurora beat her family home with enough time to put her things away and change into something more comfortable. All she wanted for the rest of the weekend was to focus on her family.

She was in the kitchen when she heard Spencer and Alice return, so she hoisted herself herself up onto the counter and sat on it. Her family entered, and Spencer was carrying Aurora so that she was facing front and away from him.

"Hi, mama!"

"Hi, baby!" Aurora kissed Alice on the nose when she leaned forward. "Have a fun day?"

"Yep!"

"Did you get a lot of books?"

Alice tapped the straps of the backpack on her back, where her favorites of the day were stored. "So many!"

"You go run off to the front room, and we'll come join you in awhile."

That sat well with Alice, and taking her mother literally, she slid out of Spencer's arms and ran out of the front room.

When they were alone, Aurora pulled Spencer close to her, so he was now standing between her legs. Intertwining their fingers, Aurora held Spencer's to her lips and kissed them. She'd noticed that he was a little out of sorts.

"You okay, Spencer?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I had an interesting conversation with Ladybug today."

"Oh, really? What did she say?"

"She informed me that Rebel's mother is expecting."

Rebel's mother was Aurora's best friend, so she knew of the pregnancy full well.

"She's almost at fourteen weeks now." Aurora arched an eyebrow at Spencer. "Alice told you that she wants a sibling, huh?"

"She did."

Aurora didn't respond at first, but only because she was trying to figure out exactly what to say. So Spencer spoke first.

"Rory, I know things are fast and not exactly in the most traditional of orders, but I love you so much and there is nobody else I'd rather be with. Ever. When the time comes, or if it's a surprise, I'd be over the moon to have a baby with you."

Aurora's eyes filled with happy tears because even though it was obvious that Spencer loved Alice like she was his own flesh and blood, he had still had some reservations about having a biological child because he was afraid of passing down the schizophrenic gene he'd inherited from his mother.

Spencer's admission had been a breakthrough.

"Do you mean that?" Aurora asked.

"I really do."

"Even though Alice...?"

As a baby, Alice had been diagnosed with myopia and was required to wear a special prescription that would correct her eyesight in time. Alice wasn't blind, but her eyesight still required a certain amount of care at times.

"Even then." Spencer told Aurora, giving her a kiss on the lips. "You can say that Alice warmed me up to the idea of life with a kid who's a little different."

Aurora only half-heard the last part of what Spencer had said because the previous part of the conversation was finally catching up with her, and a giddy feeling was now spreading through her body.

"A baby..."

"Um, Rory? Looking what you're doing."

Getting lost in thought, Aurora had been holding Spencer's hands to her middle, using her own hands to keep them in place.

"Sorry." she apologized, but didn't move their hands.

"Are you pregnant _now?"_ Spencer asked cautiously.

"No, so go ahead and breathe. I was just remembering my pregnancy, once all of the kinks had been hammered out."

"Did you like it?"

"Spencer, I _loved_ it."

Spencer was about to reply to that, but didn't get a chance because Alice called to them from the front room.

"Daddy? Mommy? You comin'?"

"In a second, Alice!"

That was from Aurora, and she looked back at Spencer, she held her hands a little tighter over hers. They were still plastered over Aurora's middle because they liked the feeling.

Aurora turned back to Spencer and spoke gently and lovingly to him.

"We can revisit the idea of having a baby or adopting one, and other such things another day, but," she pulled Spencer in by the shirt collar and planted a sizzling kiss on his lips, just because she had suddenly gotten in the mood. "There's nothing wrong with practicing, which we can do in the shower later tonight."

Aurora had a very strong influence of suggestion over Spencer's body, and she could see that he was quick on his way to La La Land, so she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, immediately bringing him back to reality.

"Hm? What?" Spencer blinked and refocused his attention on his girlfriend, backing up as she gave him a gentle nudge so she could hop off the counter. "I'm totally here."

"There's just one last thing I want to say."

"And what's that?"

"All of this back and forth we've been doing lately, between your place and mine, it's getting a bit silly. And when you aren't traveling, you practically live here and it's closer to where you work; will you move in with us?"

Aurora's question caused Spencer's heart to leap into his throat, but he recovered quickly, surprising his love with a kiss.

"Yes!" he said when they pulled apart. "Yes!"

Aurora smiled at him. "Then let's go look at books with our daughter now."

And they did.


	5. Together Again

Minerva 'Minnie' Louise Chung had been Aurora's best friend for the past three years, ever since Aurora had moved to town when she was almost six months pregnant with Alice and wanting to start over again. How Minerva and Aurora even met was a very interesting story to begin with, but when she learned that Aurora was new to the D.C. area, she and her mother, In-Sun, acted as her surrogate family, and helped her get settled in and plant some roots.

At the time of their first meeting, Minerva was also six months pregnant and also doing the motherhood job solo, although it had been her choice from the very start. Three months later, through one of the most amazing coincidences Minerva had ever experienced in her entire life, she ended up giving birth on the same day as Aurora. She had a beautiful baby girl named Constance, although on the day the little one was born, she almost died because of a last-minute complication.

After a two-day stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, Constance pulled through and because of that, Minerva changed the middle names she'd been planning to bestow on Constance, Marie Elizabeth, to Rebel because it seemed more fitting because she'd seen death and gone on to defy it, coming through with flying colors. Constance Chung truly _was_ a rebel.

Like Alice, Constance had also been diagnosed with myopia and also wore special glasses, but even still, she was as happy as a clam and marched, shimmied, and danced to the beat of her own drum. She also preferred to be called Rebel, so everyone in her life abided by that wish.

As for Minerva, for a living, she ran a popular tea room in town and was often dreaming up new recipes to serve. Because of that, she helped Aurora put together a delicious meal for her dinner with Emily, and was currently at her house, helping her put the finishing touches on everything.

* * *

"Okay, you," Minerva said to Aurora. "I finished making the appetizer, and the dirty dishes are soaking in the sink. Have you put the bread, baked ziti, and the cake in the oven?"

Aurora took the art of cooking very seriously because it was her parents' trade and she'd practically grown up in her mother's kitchen. It was only natural that she had a top-of-the-line kitchen equipped with very modern appliances, and her favorite was a very nice dual range oven that was capable of cooking different kinds of dishes at once.

"Everything is in the oven and I've got the alarm set on my phone, since they'll be done at the same time."

"Good." Minerva chirped and then studied her friend for a moment. "Everything alright?"

"I'm super jittery, Minnie." Aurora let out a puff of air and pointed to her middle. "It's mostly in my stomach."

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to be ill?"

"No."

"Are you pregnant?"

Aurora immediately turned red. "One of the kids will hear you! Hush!"

Now Minerva's face bore an expression of amusement as she rubbed her baby bump to quell her squirmy offspring. "Oh, so the second I bring up the topic of a pregnancy, you tell me to shut up?"

Before Aurora could answer, a small voice from the next room called out, "Shut up is a _bad word!"_

"You're totally right, Rebel!" Minerva called back as she and Aurora stifled giggles. "And I hope you're staying out of trouble because it's almost time to go!"

When the litte girl started to protest, Minerva reminded her that it was their movie night, and the little girl immediately promised that she would be good.

Turning back to Aurora, Minerva saw that she was looking lost in thought.

"Talk to me, Rory." Minerva said seriously. "Clear your head before Emily comes."

Aurora laughed nervously. "It's just that yesterday, Alice told Spencer that she wants a sibling, and then Spencer and I agreed later that even if it was a surprise, a baby wouldn't be such a bad thing."

"And here you are, talking about a jittery _stomach."_

Minerva had said that in a smug tone, and, feeling affronted, Aurora made a scoffing sound and responded with, "Please. I was very ill with Alice all the way up until the week before I left New York; I'm pretty sure I'd know if Spencer and I had made baby princess number two."

"Every pregnancy is different, and what with how you're describing things, it could be a baby _prince_ you're cooking in there."

"You're talking like I already _am_ expecting a visit from the stork!" Aurora whined. "Could you not?"

"Oh, alright, but according to the English language, my friend, 'pretty sure,' in the way that you used it just now, doesn'ts mean one hundred percent." Minerva said sagely. "Even if you aren't pregnant, you've definitely got babies on the brain."

"At least my sister is moving down here to come teach with me soon, so that'll be an awesome distraction, but," she nodded towards Minerva's baby belly. "Can you blame me for being in La La Land these days?"

Minerva shook her head and then checked the time on her watch. "You've got a little under twenty minutes until Emily gets here, which means it's time for Rebel and I to vamoose and watch Finding Nemo for the twelve hundredth time. I hope she finds a new movie soon."

Aurora laughed and wished her luck as she showed her out of the kitchen and helped her get Rebel ready to leave.

When they were gone, Aurora sat with Alice on the living room window seat.

"How are you doing?" Aurora asked, brushing the wrinkles out of Alice's TARDIS-themed dress and fluffing the skirt out. "You nervous?"

Remembering how her parents had sat with her the previous night to explain what was happening, Alice patted her stomach as she turned to face her mother.

"Mommy, there are flutterbyes in my tummy."

Amused by her mini-me's funny spoonerism, Aurora kissed Alice on the top of her head. "I've got them, too."

"Really?"

"You bet!" Aurora confirmed. "Where's daddy? Still cleaning?"

"Yep!"

Spencer had been on a cleaning binge all day.

"Alice Rose, will you go get him, please?"

Alice nodded and hurried off, leaving her mother alone with her thoughts.

* * *

"What a cute street." JJ mused as she drove her car down Jabberwocky Lane. "How have I never seen it before?"

Emily just made a non-committal humming noise because the closer they drew to her daughter's house, the quieter she became.

To keep her hands occupied, she was holding a bouquet of lilies and roses, as well as two gift bags she and JJ had put together. One bag was full of toys and picture books pertaining to Alice's interests, and the other was filled with interesting knickknacks they'd found for Aurora. Emily had had intention of coming to her daughter's empty-handed for the first time.

"Em?"

"Hm? What?"

So far gone in her own thoughts was Emily that she hadn't even noticed that they'd arrived, or that JJ had even parked her car and turned it off, taking the key out of the ignition and stowing it in her purse.

"We're here."

"Oh…"

JJ reached over and gave Emily's hand a gentle squeeze. "This will be fun, and don't worry—I plan on walking you in."

Emily found solace in that.

Aurora's house, as they saw it in the fading light, was a large purple two-storied colonial house with a large front yard. It even featured a screened wraparound porch, although because it was late November, nearly December, the furniture that sat on it in the warmer weather had been put away in the basement.

JJ rang the doorbell, as Emily's hands were still full, and Spencer opened the door.

"Oh, I'm so glad you guys are here!"

That was what Emily and JJ could mostly make out as their friend moved and spoke a million miles a minute in the foyer, taking their jackets and showing them where to put their shoes.

Aurora's house was dedicated in a very beautiful and modern way, but also with a style mixed in that harkened back to something simple and charming, reminding Emily of a cottage from a Thomas Kinkaide painting. As they stood in the front area of the house, they saw a staircase leading up to the second floor, as a living room on the right. The living room also had an electric fireplace against one wall, and there was a roaring fireplace in the hearth, a perfect addition to the cold night. On their left, they saw a brightly lit dining room with a large dining table that looked like it could seat many people.

"Spencer," Emily said, looking around. "Where are Aurora and Alice?"

"I'll go get them."

As he disappeared into what Emily supposed was the kitchen, the stomach butterflies she'd been experiencing all day intensified.

"It's okay." JJ held her arms out to her girlfriend. "Give me the presents and I'll put them on this little table, here."

Just as she did that, they heard footsteps, meaning that Spencer had returned… and he wasn't alone.

When Emily turned and saw Aurora, her heart bottomed out with shock and joy, and her eyes were filled with happy tears. The moment that she'd been dreaming of and wondering about for the past twenty-five years was finally here. She had never thought it would even happen.

Her daughter, her precious baby girl, was all grown-up and standing before her, dressed adorably and looking extremely beautiful. The last time they'd been together, Aurora had been curled up on Emily's chest, quiet and listening to the sound of her beating heart.

It was the last moment of connectivity they'd had until now.

"Aurora?" Emily's voice came out in a gasp as she approached her daughter. "Hello!"

Just as emotional as her mother, Aurora asked, "Mommy? Is that _really_ you?"

"Yes, baby." Emily held her daughter's hand, almost falling to pieces when Aurora immediately closed her hand over her fingers in response. "Please let me hold you."

Aurora was in Emily's arms in a heartbeat, and they were both hugging each other tightly and crying.

Both of them were only slightly aware of Spencer and JJ taking pictures with their phones, wanting to capture the moment.

When the pair pulled apart and were mostly tear-free, Emily brought Aurora to her companion.

"Aurora," Emily said to her daughter. "This my girlfriend, JJ. We met through work."

Aurora lit up at the sight of her mother's love, and she gave her a quick hug because she was a hugger. She immediately noticed that JJ was around her age, but she didn't think twice about it at all.

"Hello, JJ! Spencer told me a little bit about you, but I'm so happy that we can meet now!"

All anxiousness about the tiny age gap aside and very pleased to see that Aurora had inherited Emily's cheerful disposition, JJ returned the greeting and the hug.

"I'm happy to meet you, too, Aurora!"

Suddenly feeling like something was missing, JJ gave her immediate surrounding a cursory glance-over.

"We've got presents for you and Alice, but I don't see her…"

It was true—Alice had left the kitchen with her parents, but in all of the hubbub, she'd gone to hide. Aurora found her hiding under the kitchen table. She coaxed her from under the table and saddled her on her hip, dusting her off as she reassured her that everything was going to be fine and that the newcomers had nothing but love to give her.

When Aurora brought Alice to where everyone else was, the little girl immediately blew a kiss to JJ in greeting, but when she saw Emily, her mouth dropped open in surprise: the way she saw it, her mother and her grandmother were both nearly identical to each other.

Emily reached out to her granddaughter and caressed her cheek, smiling when Alice leaned into the touch. "Hello, my dear Alice. Do you know who I am?"

"Nana Emmy?"

Ignoring JJ's chortle at the usage of the word 'nana' because it also applied to her now, Emily nodded to Alice.

"Yes, my tiny love. I'm your Nana Emmy."

Still trying to figure Emily out, Alice queried, "Are you mommy's time-travelin' twin? A compa— compan—"

In another phone call with Spencer, he had mentioned that one of Alice's favorite past times was to watch Doctor Who with him and Aurora, and that she loved and understood every moment of it. That being said, Emily was also a Whovian, so she understood what Alice was getting at and met her halfway.

"Alice, are you trying to say 'companion,' like Rose Tyler or River Song?"

"Yes!"

"I'm not your mommy's twin, or The Doctor's companion, but I _am_ friends with him," (Alice clapped her hands in delight) "And he heard that you might be nervous today, so he gave me something for you to hold on to, for bravery."

Alice tilted her head to the side, curious. "What is it, Nana Emmy?"

"This!"

From her sweater pocket, Emily pulled out a toy version of The Doctor's trusty sonic screwdriver and held it out to her granddaughter. (Emily and JJ had added the toy last-minute, earlier that day, taking extra care to take it out of the box and put batteries in it) When Alice processed what she was looking at, she let out a happy squeal because she wholly believed what Emily had said and when she discovered that the screwdriver worked, she gave Emily a peck on the cheek in thanks before wiggling out of Aurora's arms and setting off, out of sight to play with her new toy.

"Well, I think you just made the rest of her year." Aurora laughed. "She can open her presents after her outing… if she'll even be awake then."

Emily arched an eyebrow. "She going somewhere?"

"Spencer is going to take her out for pizza and pasta."

The man in question turned to JJ. "Hey, do you want to come?"

JJ was taken aback by the invitation because she'd been expecting to spend the evening, knitting at home while she watched ESPN.

"Are you sure, Spence?"

He bobbed his head in confirmation. "Absolutely. Dinner will be my treat, and you can think of it as a chance to get to know Alice. She's as curious about you as she is about Emily."

Both flattered and swayed, JJ accepted the invitation and was soon gone with Spencer and Alice.

When it was just Emily and Aurora, Emily showed her daughter the gift bags she and JJ had put together for them. She also showed Aurora the bouquet of lilies and roses.

Once Aurora put the flowers in a vase of water, she and Emily sat down at the kitchen table so she could open her gift bag.

"Emily," Aurora said suddenly, her nimble fingers pausing on the ribbon that tying the handles of her gift bag togehter. "I didn't have time to get anything for you or JJ."

"Don't worry, sweetheart." Emily reassured her. "She and I have plans to spoil you and Alice rotten. Think of this as the start of that."

Aurora did.

* * *

When the food was ready, Aurora insisted that Emily sit down at the dining table while she brought all of the food out to the table. Aurora had put on quite a spread, and Emily was very impressed by it.

"What all did you make for dinner?" Emily asked her when she sat down after putting out the last dish. "The appetizer was delicious, and the rest of the food smells great, too."

Aurora beamed at the praise. "I had help from one of my friends, but we made baked ziti with ricotta cheese and sausage, fresh bread, and chopped salad. There's also chocolate bundt cake for dessert."

"Wow." Emily marveled.

"Do those choices sound good to you?"

"Oh, yes."

"Fantastic."

Aurora picked up Emily's plate and began loading it down with food for her mother, playing hostess to the full extent.

"Now just sit back and relax. You'll be able to tuck in very soon."

As the two ate, Emily felt like something was vaguely familiar about the baked ziti, and it surprised her because she couldn't possibly understand why felt familiar to her. She meant to ask Aurora about it but got distracted when she engaged her in a conversation about Alice.

Emily didn't mind, though.

She'd ask later.


	6. An Evening Chat

As Emily and Aurora got to know each other, JJ was getting to know Alice over a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.

The little girl was her own person, true enough, but she looked so much like a miniature Emily that it was unreal. Her likeness to her grandmother even came with very high intelligence for a three-year-old, and JJ was having a field day, indulging her.

* * *

"What are you thinking about, dove?"

Alice had been quiet for awhile, ruminating on a new thought, but was also purposefully stuffing her face with breadsticks as she figured out how to phrase her question.

When she didn't say anything right away, Spencer added, "Pace yourself, okay, Ladybug? Swallow what's in your mouth, drink some some water, and breathe!"

Quite amused by her father's phrasing, Alice followed his instructions, and when she was with it again, she looked across the table to JJ.

"Nana?"

The blond's heart turned over, but only because she was still getting used to that title. She still managed to respond.

"Yes?"

"You love Nana Emmy?"

"With my whole heart."

Alice put one hand on top of the other and patted her fingers. "You married?"

"Not yet, but one day."

"Hmm..."

Greatly intrigued by such a young mind, JJ prodded her a little further. "What is it, dove? You can tell me anything. I promise."

"Mommy will have three mommies." Alice elaborated. "You, Nana Emmy, and Nana Jess'ca!"

"Yeah, that _is_ three mommies, isn't it?"

Alice bobbed her head. "Rebbie has one, but Zoe has two."

"Do you like numbers, Alice Rose?"

"Only in chess. Know what?"

"Do tell, dove."

"I have _four_ nanas!" she exclaimed. "You, Nana Emmy, Nana Jess'ca, and Nana Diana!"

Pleased with herself that she could remember all of that, Alice looked at her plate and saw that it was empty because she'd actually eaten everything, so she asked a question of Spencer.

"Daddy, I can go play?"

Refraining from correcting Alice's grammar, Spencer nodded. "Go ahead, but remember to play nicely!"

Promising to behave, Alice wiped her mouth on her napkin and hopped off her side of the booth and joined the throng of children migrating to the cool indoor playground a few feet away, at the center of the restaurant.

Keeping an eye out on Alice from their seats, JJ and Spencer began to chat.

"She's really beautiful, Spencer," JJ told him, smiling. "And a lot of your quirks have rubbed off on her, especially your fondness for the game of chess. Is she good?"

"Oh, quite. Alice is no Bobby Fischer, but she's a fast learner. It's actually a little eerie, even with all the time she spends watching me play Aurora..."

"Kids absorb things like sponges, but some things, more than others. My nieces are just like that."

"You have nieces? I never knew that."

"Then you should pay more attention to the pictures on my desk. I've been keeping pictures of them since they were babies." JJ winked. "They also have a new brother, but I haven't met him yet."

"How old is everyone?" inquired Spencer.

"Keegs is five, Lee is three, and sweet baby Zeke is almost a month old."

"What are their actual names?

"Keegan Leilani, Paisley Jade, and Ezekiel Oliver. He was named after my dad."

Spencer smiled. "Keegan, Paisley, Ezekiel... Keegan and Paisley sound cute, but Ezekiel sounds cool..."

"Why, Spencer Sterling, I've never known you to pay attention to things like baby names, much less consider any of them cute or cool. Are you and Aurora expecting a visit from the stork?"

"No, but it wouldn't be unwelcome... and Alice told me yesterday that she really wants a sibling."

"Awww, that's adorable."

As JJ said that, she thought of how to tell her friend that she was expecting, but changed gears when she saw he had his 'pondering' face on.

"What's going on in your head?"

"Jennifer, can I ask you something? Normally, I ask Derek about this kind of thing, but I don't think he'd be able to take it seriously..."

JJ suddenly felt even more like Spencer's big sister than she already did, but said, "You can tell me anything, and I won't judge you or tell anyone."

Spencer let out a shaky breath. "Do you think it's weird that I'm thinking more about having a family of my own more than I was a year ago?"

"You mean because you're a man?"

"Precisely."

"Then I'd have to say, no, I don't think it's weird, especially since you're in a very happy and healthy relationship. Do you want to marry Aurora?"

"I do, and I knew from the day I met her."

"You also have a precious little girl who calls you daddy." JJ mused. "That's got to add to it."

"It actually does," he agreed. "As does..."

His words tapered off, and he turned a slight shade of red.

"I won't judge you." JJ reminded him.

"Aurora's teaching partner, Priyanka, is expecting her first child, so she and her husband are moving back to Texas to be closer to the families. Before we went to bed last night, Aurora spent a lot of time perusing through Priyanka's Babies R' Us registry, looking for the things that would be the most useful that nobody had bought yet. She bought a couple things and had them shipped overnight, even."

"So the packages are already at Noir Crescent, then?"

"Uh-huh. She's going to wrap them later and bring them to Priyanka's house for her baby shower next Saturday."

"Spence, doing a search of a friend's baby gift registry doesn't quite mean anything."

"No, but she was also looking at things that definitely weren't on the registry and asking me what I thought of them."

Spencer ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, nervous.

"Aurora's best friend Minerva is fourteen weeks pregnant, and she already has a daughter named Rebel."

JJ raised an eyebrow. "I've got kids in my family with quirky names, but _Rebel?"_

"Her first name is Constance, but she can barely say it, and Rebel is her middle name, so she goes by that." Spencer explained. "Aurora is Rebel's godmother, and Minerva is Alice's."

"Rebel and Alice buddies?"

"Their entire lives, and they were actually born a few hours apart, but Alice is older. Rebel even has myopia like Alice does."

"Are you sure Aurora isn't pregnant right now?"

"Actually, the more I talk about it, no..."

Spencer looked like he was going to worry himself into hair loss if they kept on the subject, so she changed the tune slightly.

"Well, if you and Aurora aren't about to become parents a second time around, at least you get to be an uncle when she becomes a big sister, come springtime."

It took Spencer a moment to realize what JJ was getting at, but when he got it, he lit up, looking as excited as a little boy on Christmas morning as came around the booth to sit next to her.

"You're pregnant, JJ?" he asked, joy written all over his face.

She beamed and nodded. "Mhm, and so is Emily; our kids are literally going to be siblings."

Now Spencer looked like he was going to pass out because he was just so excited, so JJ hugged him. Normally, Spencer wasn't the 'touchy-feely' sort, so he surprised JJ by reciprocating the form of affection. Spencer was an only child, yes, but for as long as he'd known JJ, they got along like siblings and that was one of his favorite things about their friendship.

"You okay?" JJ asked when they pulled apart.

Spencer nodded. "After my dad left when I was a kid, I always thought it was just going to be me and my mom forever."

"And now?"

"I'm with the girl of my dreams and we're happy together, we have a beautiful daughter, and _now,_ two of my closest friends are also part of my family!" Spencer said happily. "JJ, I couldn't ask for anything else because I have everything I've ever wanted, including a family I thought I'd never have in first place!"

Just as overwhelmed with emotion as he was, JJ gave Spencer another hug.

And he hugged her in return.


	7. Mother And Daughter

Back at Aurora's house, Emily had learned the story of how Alice had come to be and she also learned about the Chungs, deciding after that to pay a visit to Minerva's tea shop as soon as she could, just to meet her.

Aurora had also taken Emily on a tour of her house, proud to show it off, and even prouder that she owned it and was completely debt free because as a gift to help out in such a crazy time, one of her mother's business benefactors had paid all of the expenses off anonymously.

Emily loved all of it and took it all in, but she also found herself thinking about how to tell Aurora that she was going to be a big sister.

* * *

"Emily?"

"Sorry, Aurora. What was that you said?"

They were back in the living room now, on the couch. The fire was roaring in the fireplace, but there was a stack of blankets beside Aurora, just in case. Emily couldn't blame herself about feeling cozy, especially because she was sure that the baby was enjoying the warmth.

"I said, I have the pictures of my family. Would you like to see them?"

Emily spotted three picture frames in her daughter's lap and nodded. "Oh, yes! Who's first?"

"My parents."

Aurora handed her the first picture frame. Emily took it, and as she gazed upon the two people in it, she felt her heart skip a beat. These were the people who had chosen her daughter, taken her home, raised her, loved her. Emily owed them everything.

Both of the picture's occupants were dressed to the nines, for a Christmas party, it looked like, and they were smiling beautiful, happy smiles for the camera.

Emily only saw Aurora's father first. He was tall with broad shoulders, and had fair skin that suggested to Emily some kind of direct connection to Europe, like he'd been born over there. That was further evidenced by his blond hair and startlingly blue eyes. Emily also wondered what Aurora's father did for a living because the tuxedo and shoes he was wearing suggested money, and Emily knew a little something about family money. Even still, this looked almost out of her league.

"His name is Luuk," Aurora said, breaking through her thoughts again. "And he's from Rotterdam, in the Netherlands."

Emily raised an eyebrow at her offspring. "Really? Do you speak any Dutch at all?"

"Ja." Aurora confirmed quickly before continuing in English. "The way the story goes, he met my mom in the first year of high school when he was an exchange student at her school. They met in a cooking class, actually."

"And he managed to keep come back every year?"

"Just for her…"

Aurora's words tapered off all of a sudden, and curiously, she turned red.

Emily asked, "What's wrong?"

"Does it bother you that I keep saying, 'my parents,' and things like that?"

Emily had been contemplating different versions of that exact topic ever since she found out that Aurora wanted to see her. She gave her what she hoped was a good answer.

"No, Aurora, it doesn't bother me at all. They've raised you, loved you wonderfully, and they've cared for you in ways that I wouldn't have been mature enough to do or even responsible enough to handle because when I had you, I was in the middle of high school and a _very_ wild child." Emily gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "And I understand why you called me mommy when we first saw each other tonight, but I won't make you call me 'mom,' or anything like that because that honor belongs to the woman who raised you. I would love to be friends, and for you to just call me Emily, especially since you already have."

Aurora exhaled shakily and kept one hand on her jittery stomach as she used her free hand to wipe at her teary eyes.

"Thanks, Emily. That's a huge load off my shoulders." Aurora told her mother. "Before you look at the picture again, I just want to ask—do you know anything about my bio dad?"

Emily had been completely open with Aurora so far, so she wasn't about to keep the truth from her now, but even as she answered, she still felt a small flicker of shame.

"Other than that he was a local boy just a little older than me, nothing. His being a local, though, does make you half Italian."

"That works for me." Aurora rested both hands on her stomach now, for lack of anything to use them for. "Look who else is in the picture. You might recognize her."

Emily did indeed recognize the other picture occupant, and she looked at Aurora in surprise. "Your mom is Jessica Van Koek, the Shoestring Gourmet?"

Jessica Van Koek was a famous chef who, amongst other things, had a cooking show that Emily had been watching for years. It was filmed at the Food Network Headquarters in the Chelsea Market in Manhattan.

"Yep, and she taught me most of what I know about cooking. My dad taught me the rest because he's the head of the baking department at the Chelsea Market. Do you know it?"

"I do, and I actually end up there whenever work takes me to New York because I just like it so much."

Aurora arched an eyebrow. "You've got my mom's cookbooks, don't you?"

"All of them. I actually recognized the baked ziti recipe because I've made it so often that I know it by heart."

Aurora smiled at that and held a hand out for the picture frame Emily was holding. She was ready with a second one.

"Trade you that frame for this one? All of these pictures were taken at my parents' company Christmas party last year, so we're all dressed our very best."

Emily took the second frame and saw Aurora with a cluster of three other young people, all around her age and a little younger. Besides Aurora, there were two other young women, and even a teenage boy. Just like Luuk and Jessica had been, they were also dressed to the nines and looking very happy, like they were having a good time. Emily even noticed that one of the women, as well as the boy, were of Asian descent.

"Aurora, is this you with your siblings?" Emily asked.

"The picture is almost a year old, but yes." she nodded. "Juliana is on my right, in purple, and Katrinka is in blue, on my other side."

"Who's in the tuxedo?"

"Maxwell."

"Juliana, Katrinka, and Maxwell…"

"They'll always be Julie, Kitty, and Max to me. Want to hear something interesting about Kitty and Max?"

"Alright."

"They're from Beijing, and they were already siblings. According to my parents, things were set in motion to adopt Katrinka, but a week before they went to meet her and bring her home, they found out that she had a new brother who was also at the orphanage."

"And she wouldn't part with him, would she?"

"Bingo. She was two years old and fiercely protective of this tiny baby boy."

"And there was no way your parents could say no, huh?"

"You got it. My parents have big, big hearts full of love. They would love you very much."

Emily didn't know how to respond to that because she was curious now about what the elder Van Koeks were like, up close and personal, and while she fancied the idea of meeting them if the chance was ever put on the table, the idea still gave her stomach butterflies. It wasn't like meeting them would be breaking any of the adoption rules, now that Aurora was over eighteen, but still.

She deflected a direct answer to that with an inquiry of her own. "How old is Juliana? She looks closest to your age."

"Funny story there." Aurora laughed nervously. "She's also twenty-five, but her birthday is in July."

"Jessica was pregnant with her when you were adopted, wasn't she?"

"Mhm. She was told that she wasn't able to have kids, but Julie was a surprise." explained Aurora. "Julie and I are six months apart, and when we were little, we thought we were twins."

"You know, one of my wishes for you was that you wouldn't be alone, and now look at you: you've got a daughter, two parents, three siblings, and even a boyfriend!"

Aurora passed Emily the last picture frame. "I have a niece, too, and she's Alice's age."

Emily looked at the picture to see the two little girls in matching holiday dresses, holding hands and smiling for the camera. One of the little girls was Alice, and the other was dark-skinned. Her thick black hair was done up in a very cute hairstyle, and she looked like the happiest kid in the world, but something told Emily that in all of that, there was a story there.

Aurora seemed to be reading her mind. "She's called Zadie, and the short of it is that her parents died in a car crash less than a month after she was born. Since Julie was their best friend and Zadie's godmother, she adopted her. Zadie's biological family didn't want her."

"Another story for another day?"

"Uh-huh."

Aurora got up and put the frames back on a nearby shelf, only to now retrieve a small decorative wooden chest and hold it close. From where Emily sat, she could see Aurora's first and middle names on a metal nameplate affixed to the front of the chest.

"Emily," Aurora said as she sat back down with her. "Why did you call me Aurora Hope?"

"Well, you were born Valentine's Day, and I thought about calling you Valentine because you were the prettiest baby I'd ever seen. I was in awe that I'd made someone so perfect and so beautiful."

"D-did you want me?"

Emily caressed Aurora's cheek. "I wanted you so badly, angel, and I've loved you from the moment I knew you were there. Giving you up was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life, but I would not have been good for you, even with help from my parents. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Aurora exhaled shakily. "I just had to ask that."

"Of course. Shall I finish the rest of the story?"

"Yes, please."

"As I held you for those few minutes, wrapped in your green blanket, I saw that the Northern Lights were in the sky and I actually had a pretty good view of them. You were crying, but I calmed you and I described the whole scene. You weren't even an hour old yet."

"Did I quiet?"

Emily nodded. "Mhm, and it looked like you were looking at the lights because your eyes were actually open for a smidge. Have you seen the Northern Lights in your memory?"

"Twice."

"Then I'm sure you know the other name for them."

"Aurora Borealis."

"There you go." Emily winked. "I named you after the lights because they were as beautiful as you. As for Hope, not only was I planning on using that, but every time I felt one of your kicks, nudges, or hiccups, I would always find myself hoping that you would have the best life possible. I closed the adoption because at the time, because choosing any perspective parents would have made things even harder than they already were."

Aurora was deeply moved and feeling the most love yet towards her precious mother.

She was also teary-eyed again, but now it was raising red flags for her.

Emily reached over and wiped her tears. "You're not normally this emotional, are you?"

"No, I'm not, and I teach kindergarten."

"Don't freak out, but I was as loopy and all over the place like you are now when I was pregnant with you."

Aurora's heart turned over. "We actually just talked about having a baby some time down the road, and I told Spencer that I wasn't pregnant, but the more I think about it, the more I've been kidding myself lately. At school, we just finished putting on a production of Peter Pan, and I helped to direct it, but a lot of the kindergartners got cast as extras or Lost Boys."

"That would definitely sap up a lot of your energy." Emily agreed as her heart began to hammer. "Do you have any pregnancy tests in your bathroom upstairs?"

"No, but I'll go to the drug store later."

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent."

Suddenly remembering that she had her keepsake chest in her lap, Aurora passed it to Emily.

"This has my baby things in it, and I want to look through the box with you, but first, I want you to open it and take out what's on top."

Emily did just that, and when she saw what it was, she took it out and held it close.

"This is your…"

"My baby blanket." Aurora nodded as she moved the box to the floor, out of the way of where they might accidentally trip over it. "It still has the scent."

Emily held the knitted blanket to her nose, remembering all of the effort she'd put into making it; she'd learned how to knit because she wanted to make something for her daughter since she loved her but wasn't going to be keeping her. Heart hammering even more, Emily inhaled the scent.

Roses.

Emily draped the blanket over her daughter's lap. "Oh, Aurora. I have something really important and really special to tell you."

"Oh? Are you and JJ getting married?"

"One day, but not yet. Actually," she reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "She and I are both pregnant. You're going to be a big sister again."

Aurora burst into tears, at the drop of that, slightly startling Emily, but promptly apologized.

"I'm sorry I keep crying!" she took off her glasses and put them on the side table, just next to the tissue box. "I promise I'm happy!"

"That's perfectly alright." Emily told her calmly. "We've both had a really big day today, and you might even have a little hitchhiker that's adding to this rollercoaster."

At the thought of a baby possibly growing in her womb, Aurora glided her hands over her middle, trying to process the idea. She was left with equal parts joy and chaos.

"Come here, Aurora." Emily held her arms out to her daughter. "Please let me hold you."

Aurora immediately closed the small space between them, leaning against Emily and watching as she spread the baby blanket over her.

"I love you so much, Aurora." Emily planted a kiss on her temple and wiped her tears for her before holding her close in a hug. "You're so beautiful and so strong. I'm so glad that we've been able to have this meeting tonight."

"Me, too." Aurora told her. "I already know that I'll have to be calling in tomorrow."

"Yeah, you'd definitely need a day to recover. Your kids would freak out, wouldn't they?"

"They freak out if I sneeze too loudly."

They both had a laugh at that and then settled into silence, just enjoying each other's company.

Sure, they still had a few more things to talk about it before the visit was over, but those things could wait.

Emily just wanted to soak this moment in, comforting her daughter.

Even the small moments mattered.


	8. Don't Let This Night End

Once Aurora was calm again, she and Emily finished looking through her treasure box, but by the time that they were done and she put the box back on the shelf, Emily had another lump in her throat about something else.

Concerned, Aurora questioned her about it. "Is there anything else you want to share with me?"

Emily nodded and exhaled a shaky breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "I told my parents that Spencer found you."

Those words hit Aurora like a ton of bricks. Here she was, getting to know her mother, and she hadn't even thought of her grandparents yet.

"Y-you did? Are they local?"

"Yes to both questions, and my parents live in Georgetown."

Aurora's heart jumped. _"Georgetown?_ That's very close! What are their names? Do I look like either of them, Emily?"

"My mom's name is Elizabeth Rose, and believe it or not, I grew up living all over the world because she's a foreign ambassador to the United Nations."

Purely aghast and impressed, Aurora exclaimed, "Shut the front door!"

"Honest-to-goodness truth. I've acquired the ability to speak seven foreign languages because of that."

 _"Seven?_ Doesn't that make you a hyperpolyglot?"

"You bet, and I even have Spencer beat by two, but I'll tell you about that another time."

"Awww." Aurora whined.

"Either that, or I can skip over telling you about my dad."

Aurora sobered up immediately. "I'll cooperate."

"Good girl." Emily approved. "My dad is called Harrison, and he's the dean of students and the head of the mathematics department over at Walker."

Walker was short for Walker International College, one of the half-dozen learning institutions peppered throughout the area.

"Oh, my God." Aurora said softly as she had an epiphany. "That's where I'm getting my degree from."

Now Emily was the one taken aback. "Seriously? Have you seen him at all?"

"No, because a different person handled my affairs when I transferred, and I finished all of my math credits at NYU. Plus, I work from home."

"Gotcha. That would have been extra trippy if you'd run into him before now…"

Her words tapered off because she'd just had her own epiphany and was now tracing her daughter's face, even adjusting her glasses when she noticed that they were slightly crooked after she'd put them back on at the end of her crying jag.

"Emily, what are you doing?" Aurora asked in perplexity.

"You've got your father's light olive-colored skin, but you look just like me, and I look like my mother. It's taken this whole visit, but I finally figured out who's eyes you've got."

"Really? Whose?"

Emily traced her daughter's face one more time. "You've got my dad's eyes. Genes run strong and very deep in our family, but I've never been able to see it until now."

Aurora beamed at that and then said, "Is there anything else that you want to tell me?"

"You sound like a profiler." Emily joked.

"Just a kindergarten teacher." winked her offspring.

"Well, you're on the ball. My parents want to meet you because the last time they saw you, they were taking you from me to bring to a nurse."

Aurora's heart did a flip-flop. "Did you tell them about Alice?"

"Oh, yes. They're excited about both of you, and guess what?"

"I couldn't possibly."

"They're both very good cooks, too, and they also have all of Jessica's cookbooks. They taught me to cook after you and I parted ways, and a lot of the recipes were from your mother's works."

Aurora got tear-eyed, realizing that her adoptive mother had unintentionally played a role in helping her biological mother's broken heart. She lived in a very small world.

"Well, that seals that. We'll go whenever none of our schedules don't conflict."

Emily beamed. "That makes me so happy to hear, and don't go putting all of your eggs in one basket, but next Sunday sounds like their first available day. I'll probably be in town because JJ said something about this being a housekeeping week. Would you be available?"

"All I've got next weekend is my coworker's baby shower on Saturday, and Spencer will be out of town starting Wednesday, lecturing at Stanford. He won't get back until very late on Sunday night, so my day is wide open."

"Excellent. I'll text mother later."

Aurora smiled and then found herself the one in the hot seat. "They will totally understand if you say no, but I told my parents about you, and they would like to meet you."

A huge wave of emotion washed over Emily at this, and if it hadn't been for Aurora holding her hand, she would have started crying.

"Do they, now?"

"Mhm. I told them about you and your connection to Spencer, and now they've extended an invitation for you to come visit for a weekend in Manhattan. I'll come with Alice, of course."

"JJ has a new nephew that she hasn't met yet, so if she goes to see him and the rest of her family over a weekend, I'll make arrangements to be available to go home with you and Alice."

Aurora hugged her mother, delighted. "You can meet everyone else, and guess what?"

"Do tell."

"Julie is moving down here with Zadie after Christmas!"

"Oh, that's wonderful, sweetheart, but why?"

"You know how I said the event I'm going to next weekend is my coworker's baby shower?"

Emily nodded. "Yep."

"Well, it's also Priyanka's going away party because she and her husband are moving to Texas, but that's another story. The point of this one is that Julie is a teacher, too, and she's enjoyed the school she's been at, but she wants a change of scenery, especially for Zadie."

"So she's decided to follow you here?"

"Bingo, and I don't mind because I adore her, but she's going to be replacing Priyanka. I haven't told my students yet about Julie because they're still preparing themselves for the fact that Priyanka's last day is the day we all cut out for Christmas vacation."

Emily could keep from smiling in amusement. "When Juliana does come, do you think your students will be able to process that she's your sister?"

"I hope so. We've actually been teaching them about different family structures, including adoption. Them learning that about her would be the cherry on top."

Emily started to say something, but was derailed by a stirring in her womb, so she let out a puff of air and glided her hands over her middle.

"Wow…"

"What is it?"

Emily laughed. "Your little brother or sister is way fidgitier than you were at this point, and I'm only at ten weeks."

"Alice gave me grief for ages, even after I knew she was there. If I have a little 'hitchhiker,' then I guess I should be thankful that I haven't been constantly puking up my guts like I did with Alice."

Emily patted her daughter's hand. "If you you do have a hitchhiker, maybe it's a baby boy."

"I have a feeling that Alice would be thrilled to pieces with a brother."

"What about you and Spencer? Any preferences?"

"I don't know about him, but I'd love another daughter."

Still feeling her baby's minute movements, Emily smiled at her daughter and said, "I know there isn't anything like kicking to be felt from the outside yet, but do you still want to have a feel?"

"Yes, please!"

"Come closer and give me your hand."

Aurora moved so that she was now directly next to her mother and gave her her hand to hold. Emily lifted back her shirt, exposing her bare skin and held Aurora's hand to the bump, even pressing down slightly on the taut area.

"Do you feel that?" Emily asked her.

Aurora's voice came out softly, in a tone of clear awe. "I do."

"One of your little brothers or sisters is in there."

"Oh, my God… that's really neat…"

Emily smiled as, all on her own, Aurora put her other hand on the bump, wanting to get the full experience. That's when something important occurred to her.

"Aurora?"

The woman tore her gaze away from where her unborn sibling was gestating and looked to her mother. "Yes?"

"You've got siblings, but no living memory of Jessica pregnant because you were an infant, right?"

"Correct."

"So this will be a brand new experience, all the way around."

Aurora nodded. "Especially because JJ is your love and she's pregnant, too. I want to give her another hug."

"She wouldn't mind that at all."

"Are you sure? She can't be that much older than I am, and a lot's been thrust on her, including a granddaughter… and me."

Emily fixed her shirt and then spoke to Aurora in a tone that was gentle but firm. "JJ was quite surprised when she found out that you exist, and she was also surprised when she learned that you're only two years apart, but she told me herself that age is just a number. It doesn't bother her."

Aurora breathed a sign of relief. "That makes me feel better, and I want to be friends with her."

"She really wants to be friends, too." Emily told her. "If you have your phone on you, I can give you her number."

Aurora was never far from her phone, even when she was in her own home, so she pulled it from her pocket, unlocked it and gave it to her mother.

When Emily finished and handed the mobile device back, her eyes fell on something in the corner, by one of the bookshelves: a pile of neatly stacked shipping packages with the Babies R' Us logo on them.

"Aurora Hope," Emily laughed, motioning towards the boxes. "What are all those?"

Aurora turned red when she saw what Emily was talking about. "I did some shopping for Priyanka, using her baby registry, and I got some of the bigger things that nobody had gotten yet, but I may or may not have gotten some… extra things, just on a whim about my supposed hitchhiker."

"That's a hell of a whim, and you are _totally_ pregnant."

Emily stood and stretched, holding her hand out to her daughter so she could help her up.

"Come show me what you got."

Aurora was all too happy to do that.

* * *

Later, when Spencer came back to Noir Crescent with Alice and JJ, it was hard for Aurora to say goodbye, after spending twenty-five years apart, but once Emily promised to keep in touch with her throughout the week, they were able to do it.

Not long after that, Aurora couldn't contain her nerves about the possibility of being pregnant for too much longer, so she decided to do something about it.

"Spencer," she said to her beau when she found him playing chess against himself in the living room. "I've gotta go run an errand, but I should be back in an hour or so."

Spencer stood and put his hands on her shoulders, searching her eyes. "Are you okay, babe?"

"Never better." Aurora gave him a peck on the cheek. "See you when I get back."

Comforted, Spencer said goodbye to his girlfriend and returned to his chess game.

* * *

Instead of going to the drug store to get a box of home pregnancy tests, Aurora drove straight to the local hospital's free clinic because going there would be a lot easier. She was able to check herself in without much trouble, and when she went to one of the empty patient areas, she didn't have long to wait for the doctor. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw who it was.

"Hi, Haley!" she said in both relief and excitement. "I'm so happy to see you!"

It was true: through what in later years would be called a twist of destiny or fate, Haley Hotchner was one of the first friends Aurora had made besides Minerva. They'd met at the shopping mall, and the exact nature of what happened exactly on that day was another story, but one of the things they'd bonded over was being pregnant because Aurora was almost to her third trimester with Alice, and Haley was in the middle of her second one with Jack. Aurora and Haley were instant friends, and now, even Alice and Jack were because they were in the same day program. They were even in the same class. Aurora also knew about Haley's husband, but not much, because he was always busy.

When it came time for Aurora's first prenatal appointment in D.C., it was another bit of destiny or fate, Haley was assigned to be her OBGYN.

Lighting up when she saw her friend, Haley closed the the curtain behind her and gave the younger woman a hug. She knew full well of her relationship with Spencer, and also that Emily was her mother and that she was going to be meeting her, but even still, the two hadn't seen each other in over a week.

"How are you doing?" Haley asked her.

Aurora's bottom lip wobbled immediately. "Haley, I just spent the evening getting to know Emily, and she's just perfect."

"That's really wonderful." Haley gave Aurora's hand a gentle squeeze. "Do you want to talk about that, or the reason that you came here, to the hospital?"

Aurora let out a shaky sigh. "I-I think I'm pregnant, and it wouldn't be unwelcome, but…"

"You figured that coming here would be easier?"

"Yep."

"Well," Haley said, moving towards the ultrasound machine by the bed and firing it up with. "I'm sure remember the routine from when you were carrying Alice."

Aurora nodded as she leaned back on the bed and pulled her shirt back. "I sure do."

A few minutes later, her middle was covered in gel and her eyes were fixed on the ultrasound monitor as Haley used the ultrasound wand to probe the surface, looking for the baby.

"Oh, look." Haley said excitedly. "I see someone who wants to say hello to mommy!"

Aurora's heart was in her throat and she looked where Haley was pointing.

The she saw it—her precious little baby.

She was going to be a mother again.


	9. Finding Out

When Aurora got home from the hospital, she barely remembered to send an email to Priyanka about why she wouldn't be coming to school in the morning before she put her things away and going to look for Spencer.

She found him in their bedroom, dressed for bed and reading a book. Spencer was very engrossed in the novel and he didn't look up until Aurora had closed the door behind her, straddled his lap and physically removed the book from his hands.

"Hey!" he protested. "I was reading th—"

Spencer's words were cut off by Aurora planting a brain-frying kiss on his lips.

"Woah." he remarked when the moment ended. "That wasn't just an errand you stepped out for, was it?"

Aurora actually giggled as she shook her head. "Nope. Emily suggested it, but she thought I could be pregnant."

Spencer's heart skipped a beat and he stuttered, "A-are you?"

"I am!"

There was a beat of silence on Spencer's part as he digested the news, but almost immediately afterward, he broke into a look of pure joy.

"Really?" he returned Aurora's kiss. "We're having a baby?"

"Yes, and," she giggled again. "The most interesting part is how far along I am."

"Oh?"

"I was informed that not all baby bellies are textbook in size, but," Aurora cupped Spencer's face in her hands and stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. "I'm already pushing ten weeks."

Again, Spencer stuttered. _"T-ten?_ So that means that it happened on our second date after we came back to your place after the drive-in theater?"

"Gold star for Spencer."

Quite pleased that Alice was asleep for the night, Aurora dismounted from Spencer's lap and shimmied out of her shirt and leaned back against their headboard. Her bra was definitely showing off her assets and she could even see that Spencer's eyes had gone straight to her chest, so she pointed to her middle. A slight swell could be seen, although if Aurora wore a baggy shirt, it would be completely hidden again.

"Take a look. Our little guy or doll is growing in there, and I saw on the screen that everything is happening as it should be; the baby is completely healthy."

Overwhelmed by the emotion of it all, Aurora began to cry, and in response, Spencer wiped her tears for her and kissed his way down her body, from her cheeks to her neck and shoulders to her chest.

Aurora let out lusty sighs at the feel of Spencer's kisses and thought about taking him right then and there on the bed, but her attention was completely derailed when Spencer kissed her bump and began talking to it.

Normally, Spencer in past years wouldn't have seen a point in speaking to a gestating child that wasn't even big enough to hear yet, but since this child was his, that changed everything.

"Hey, in there." he lowered himself onto his stomach and propped himself onto his elbows. "I'm your daddy, and I love you much already. You surprised mommy and I by letting us know that you're joining the family, but I promise you that we're very excited."

Aurora looked down at her bump and tacked something on in addition. "We are so very excited about you, little one, but when we tell your sister about you, she's going to be over the moon."

At that, Spencer sat up. "Rory, when _should_ we tell Alice?"

"How about we make her a special breakfast in the morning? We _could_ take her out to breakfast before you go to work, but she wouldn't be awake enough to appreciate it."

Alice was not much of a morning person, and she was known to occasionally be a troll. Chocolate chip pancakes and bacon with any kind of juice were her favorite things to eat for breakfast, so feeding all of that to her when they had something important to tell her was definitely bribery, but it would be enough to keep her awake and cheerful.

"Deal, but if we tell her, one of us is telling Emily."

"Me!" Aurora quickly raised her hand for a second. "But if _she's_ going to be told, there's no way she can keep it from JJ; she is her confidant and they're all but married, anyway."

"If both of them knew," Spencer snickered. "Penelope would weasel it out of her, and she would tell Derek because _they're_ all but married."

"And what about the other two? Dave and Aaron, right?"

"Uh-huh, but this means that Emily will have to tell everyone about you."

"I don't mind, just as long as Alice and I meet the rest of the pack past you and JJ soon."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

Unable to keep his hands (or much else) to himself, Spencer kissed his way down Aurora's body again, taking his time on her belly because he wanted to be as close to the baby as possible, and he was already imagining holding him or her for the first time in the delivery room.

Aurora patted him gently on the head. "Can you look at me?"

Spencer obliged. "Yes?"

"The only bummer about what I'm going to say next is that you'll be on your way back from California when this happens, but I will more than likely be reuniting with my grandparents next Sunday, and Alice is coming. I was about an hour old the last time Elizabeth and Harrison saw me."

"Emily's parents, huh? I've only ever met her mother, and she liked me, but she thought I was a little strange. I don't know anythi—babe, what are doing?"

Feeling very horny all of a sudden, Aurora had stripped off the rest of clothes, leaving her very naked, except for her glasses. The look that she gave him as she got off the bed was extremely seductive and sent all of the Spencer's body rushing south. He even had a tent pole in his pants in a matter of moments.

Purred Aurora, "Nice to see I have that effect on you."

Bending down, she freed Spencer of his confines and gave his shaft a few kisses, earning her a few groans of deep appreciation. Spencer even became completely ramrod in Aurora's hold, gasping in surprise when she kissed him on the tip of his shaft, although it was mostly because she pulled away.

"You _could_ stay here and take care of that yourself," she said in indication of how he'd already had his hand wrapped around himself and was beginning the process. "Or you could come join me in the shower."

Hearing the invitation, Spencer picked up the pace; he'd been hoping for a few hours now that Aurora would be in the mood for sex, but he hadn't expected her to pour on so much seduction in a short time, and now that she was and she already had him in a vulnerable state, it was almost too much for him to handle.

He nearly came right then and there.

But he managed to undress and follow Aurora to their bathroom.

* * *

Everyone at Noir Crescent woke in very cheerful moods the following morning, even Alice, although her happiness was attributed by and large to her very first thought being Emily and JJ, and of how nice they had been to her.

"Hi, mommy! Hi, daddy!" she said around a yawn as she sat at the kitchen table bench.

Aurora and Spencer were nearly done making pancakes and bacon for Alice. They hadn't noticed her enter.

"Hey, sweet pea." Aurora blew her a kiss and transferred the finished bacon she was cooking from the frying pan to the plate on the countertop next to the stove. "How are you?"

"Happy!" she blew a kiss back and then studied her parents. "What are you doin'?"

Spencer turned to her. "We're making pancakes and bacon for our number one girl, and the food is almost ready."

Alice realized immediately that her parents were buttering her up for something, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Daddy going on the plane?

Aurora brought the plate of bacon down on the table and sat next to Alice, tapping her on the nose. "Nope, that's _tomorrow,_ and we'll give him lots of extra hugs and kisses before he goes."

"Oh, yeah." Alice giggled.

Finished with making the rest of the food, Spencer brought over a tray loaded down with enough pankcakes for all of them. There was even a mini pitcher for the syrup, three drinking glasses and a pitcher of Alice's favorite fruit juice.

"Ladybug," Spencer said to Alice as he arranged everything on the table and sat across from her and Aurora. "Mommy and I have a surprise for you, but would you like to eat first or hear the surprise?"

Alice thought about it for a moment and then declared, "Surprise!"

Normally, Alice would pick food over anything else, but Aurora kept her cool and held her offspring's tiny hands to her middle.

"Alice Rose, you know how you wished for a little brother or sister?"

"Yep!"

"Well, your wish came true! There's a baby growing in my tummy!"

Alice's mouth dropped open in surprise and she processed that her hands were on her mother's baby bump, she looked over at Spencer.

"It's true?" she asked, her little girl voice getting high at the end, as it always did whenever she asked a question.

"It's all true." Spencer confirmed.

"Because of wishing stars?" she pressed.

This time Spencer grinned. "Because of wishing stars."

All interest in the food forgotten for the moment, Alice turned back to her mother and she gave her the biggest hug she knew she could because joy was overwhelming her. There was even an, "I love you a very lot much epically tons!" thrown in, albeit a little muffled becaused she was pressed up against her, but either way, it was the sweetest thing Aurora had ever heard Alice tell her.

Grabbing Aurora's phone from where it was on the table, Spencer took plenty of pictures. He even watched as Aurora returned the hug, holding Alice close and carressing her hair.

He'd get in on the hugs in a minute.

* * *

Spencer's head remained in the clouds as he got into work, and it made for an interesting start to the day.

"Okay, what?" Derek asked as they and the rest of the team disembarked the elevator and stood together the hallway between the bullpen and JJ's office. "You're being extremely quiet, and it's kinda creeping me out."

Instead of answering him, Spencer turned to Emily and said, "Your phone should be ringing any moment now."

"I beg your pard—"

Her question was cut off by her phone, and her heart jumped when she recognized her daughter's number.

"Hi, Aurora!" she chirped when she answered, very much aware of everyone watching her. "How are you?"

"Is JJ nearby?"

Instinctively, Emily reached for JJ's hand and when she gave it to her, their fingers intertwined automatically. This drew arched eyebrows from everyone but Spencer, especially because they also began to wonder who Emily was talking to.

"She is now." Emily told her. "What's up?"

"You were right—I'm going to be a mommy again!"

"Oh, that's wonderful, sweetheart!" Emily exclaimed. "We're just walking in to work, but is it alright if I come visit later, maybe take you out to dinner?"

Like Aurora could say no to another chance to see her mother. "Of course! Text me later?"

"You bet!"

They quickly said their goodbyes and when Emily hung up and put her phone away, she and JJ were still hands, but Derek, Hotch, and Rossi were looking at her in puzzlement. Penelope just grinned, already having known about Aurora.

"What's happening?" Derek asked. "Spencer looks like the cat that ate the canary, and now you and JJ are holding hands?"

"Very observant." Emily teased.

"And _who_ is Aurora?"

"She's pregnant… and she's my kid."

There was a beat of silence, and all in unison, Derek, Hotch, and Rossi asked, "You have a kid?"

"Yes. Yes, I do." Emily blushed. "She's twenty-five and it's a long story, but I'll explain it… and a few other things, but I think it'd be best if we were all sitting down."

Hotch spoke up. "Okay, we'll all go put our things away, grab some caffeine and meet in the round table in five minutes. Everybody good with that plan?"

They were.


	10. The Team Finds Out

Before long, the team was gathered in the conference room, and things felt strange.

Though the table was round, this morning, there was a clear division, right in half. Emily, JJ, and Spencer were sitting at the head of the table, their backs to the presentation screen. JJ was on Emily's right, while Spencer, who was now all too aware of just how connected he was with JJ's and Emily's family, sat on her left. Penelope sat on the other side of the divide, not saying anything because she already knew, and next to her, each more confused than the next person, were Derek, Rossi, and Hotch.

It was the latter who bit the bullet. "Okay, Emily. Educate us on your daughter, please."

Emily took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I grew up all around the world because of my mom's ambassadorial postings, and twenty-five years ago, we were in Rome."

"How old were you?"

"Fifteen." Emily replied, hoping that she could keep down the blush that was threatening to creep up. "I made certain choices, and the next thing I know, I'm pregnant. Aurora was born on Valentine's Day, and I wanted to keep her because she was my daughter, but it wouldn't have been a good idea."

"Why not?"

"I was a wild child, and I wouldn't have trusted myself to raise a baby because I was afraid of doing something bad that could possibly hurt her. I also didn't want to foist her on my parents while I finished school, either."

A few seats down, Rossi had a lightbulb moment. "So you gave her up."

Emily nodded. "I did, and I also closed the adoption because it would have made me sadder. I didn't see her again until yesterday because of a certain twist of fate."

Derek arched an eyebrow. "And that twist of fate is named Spencer, isn't it?"

Everyone turned to Spencer, who immediately blushed.

"Yes, Aurora is my girlfriend, and we met a few months ago." Spencer said. "How we met is another story altogether, but the short of it is that we've been together ever since, and we are very, very in love."

"And you two have a baby on the way," smiled Rossi. "Mazel tov."

Spencer chuckled nervously. "Thanks, and, uh, the baby isn't the only child I have now, actually."

It was Hotch's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Spencer pulled a picture of Alice out of his wallet and slid it across the table to Hotch.

"That's our Alice Rose. She's three."

Hotch admired the picture and then handed it to Penelope for her to see.

"And so darling!" the blond cooed, having a look before passing the picture on. "She looks like a mini Emily!"

JJ, who had been watching everybody, noticed that Hotch was extra quiet, so she called her partner out on it.

"Aaron? You look like you've gone off to La La Land."

"Do you have a picture of Aurora on hand?"

Emily dug up a picture she and Alice had taken last night on her phone and slid it across the table. Hotch caught her phone and compared the picture on the screen to the picture of Alice that Rossi handed him. Everyone watch, realizing that he was having a lightbulb moment of his own.

"Haley and Jack know them." he finally said.

"I beg your pardon?" Emily, JJ, and Spencer chorused.

"Well, I never made the connection until just now because Haley and Jack refer to them as Rora and Allie, but they met three years ago and they all hang out together on the weekends at the playground by our house when Haley isn't at work. I think the kids are in the same day program together, too." Hotch said, passing the borrowed items back to their owners. "Jack and Alice have known each other their entire lives, but I've never had a chance to meet Alice or her mother because I'm gone most weekends. I _do_ know that Jack adores Alice a lot, though."

Emily queried, "How did you reach that conclusion?"

"Jack has a framed picture of Alice on his bedside table, next to the one of Haley and I, and he blows kisses to it before he goes to bed. Sometimes he talks to the picture, too."

Next to him, Derek suddenly bore an extremely cheeky grin, and just as he opened his mouth to make a jibe, Emily shut him down.

"Derek Dabney Morgan, don't you dare crack any jokes about my grandbaby becoming a Hotchner one day because while I'm quite tickled by the idea, Alice can't even read yet! And no jibes about me being a grandmother, either.

Beside Emily, JJ suddenly giggled and said to Derek, "Your middle name is _Dabney?"_

"Oh, like Annabelle _Euclid_ is any better?" he shot back. "And I'll have you know that Dabney is a _family_ name, Tinker Bell!"

"Were you two siblings in another life, or something?" Rossi asked in amusement.

"They probably were." Emily sighed, rubbing her temples.

Still in a silly mood, Derek asked JJ, "I suppose jibes about _you_ being a grandmother are off-limits, too?"

"How did you know?" JJ squawked.

"You holding hands with Prentiss confirmed that you two are together, so it was easy to make the leap from there." (Penelope, Rossi, and Hotch nodded in agreement) "How long _have_ you two been together, and is there anything else you want to say?"

"We've been together for the last four, almost five months." JJ answered shyly. "We were just keeping this quiet because of something else really special that we're so excited about."

"Don't leave us hanging!"

"We're both pregnant!"

The air was filled with cheers and congratulations, although more questions were asked quickly after that.

"Emily, do your parents know about Aurora?"

"Do Aurora's adoptive parents know about everything that's going on?"

"Does Alice?"

Emily, JJ, and even Spencer were happy to answer everything.

* * *

The day passed by in a blur after that, and before Emily knew it, she was driving to Aurora's house to pick her up for their dinner date. Emily was very amused to see that Aurora had clearly been waiting for her because she was in the driveway for about a minute before she left her house and made her way to the car.

"A little eager to leave, I see." Emily joked a few minutes later after they left Noir Crescent and transitioned onto the main road.

"Like you wouldn't believe, Emily." Aurora leaned back in her seat and glided her hand over her midsection, its roundness just visible under her winter coat. "We told Alice about the baby this morning, and I stayed home with her to hang out with her, but she wouldn't leave me alone about it until I could find something to distract her with."

"Looking forward to your kindergarteners tomorrow?"

"Very much, and just you wait: in three years, you and JJ will have a pair of chatterbox toddlers on your hands."

Emily shuddered and changed lanes, both figuratively and literally. "I would rather just think of your siblings as babies… and also how to propose to JJ."

Aurora lit up at that last part. "You're already thinking about that? Share your ideas with me!"

"Pick a place for dinner first. It's my treat and your choice."

Aurora looked out at the nighttime landscape of their town, surveying her surroundings.

"How about that new Mexican place over by the mall?" she asked her mother, looking back at her. "Do you know it?"

Emily nodded; it was actually in the direction they were headed. "Indeed I do, but if we want to start this night out right, you have to tell me baby stories about Alice. I want to know baby tips, too."

"You mean because you're going to tell me your ideas about how to propose to JJ?"

"Bingo."

"Then it's a deal."

This was going to a great night.


	11. Heart To Heart

When Emily and Aurora placed their orders, Emily immediately noticed that something was different about her daughter's disposition than it had been even five minutes beforehand.

"Aurora, what's wrong?"

The young woman wiped the distant look if her face and gave her mother a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, I promise. I was just thinking."

"Care to share?"

"Even before I met Aurora's bio-dad, I've been burned in relationships before. I love Spencer with my whole heart and every single day, I'm in awe that he fell in love with me, of all people. I can't wait to Missus Doctor Spencer Reid, but this far into my last relationship, I was already missing warning signs that I was going to get dumped."

Emily's heart broke a little for her daughter, and she suddenly found herself wishing that she could go back in time to personally kick the ass of every last person who had ever made Aurora sad.

"Sweetheart, Spencer loves you so incredibly much, and he loves Alice like he's known her since she was growing inside you. He's even got a framed picture of the two of you on his desk now; I saw it this morning."

Aurora smiled. "Yeah, he showed me the picture before he left today."

"So you see? If Spencer does something like that, it's because he truly loves you. He can't live without you, Alice, or the baby."

"And none of us can live without him."

"Does that make you feel better?"

"Yeah, Emily, it does." the teacher's happy smile grew. "Thanks."

Emily reached across the table and gave her offspring's hand a gentle squeeze. "Now how about you tell me something from your first pregnancy?"

Aurora thought for a minute and then laughed as on the thought in particular popped into her head. "One of the most telltale things, besides the usual, was that I craved fruit. Usually, pregnant women crave anything _but_ healthy things don't they?"

Emily laughed. "I hate to make a pun out of this, kid, but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"No?"

"It was the dog days of summer in Italy during my first trimester, and it was hot to the point where I'd actually get sick from heat exhaustion and have to stay inside. That being said, it was also prime watermelon season, so that turned into my favorite go-to snack, once I found out the hard way that I'm allergic to strawberries."

Aurora spat out a little of her drink in surprise.

"What?" Emily asked in amusement as she helped Aurora clean up. "Are you allergic to strawberries, too?"

"And kiwi. I also found out when I was pregnant, although _apples_ were my favorite thing to snack on. It was never a fun day when I ran out."

"Well, if I passed down my love for fruit and my strawberry allergy, but you got a kiwi allergy on your own, did you pass any of that to Alice?"

"Both allergies, and any time we take her somewhere or when she's at school, I give her a special bag that has an epi-pen it because her allergic reactions can be near-fatal."

"Good to know." Emily said seriously. "I'll make sure JJ knows, too."

Aurora smiled at her mother's concern, touched. "There _is_ one thing that I just can't figure out about her and her food, though. Neither can Spencer."

"Do tell."

"Alice has an _extremely_ irrational fear of any spaghetti-like noodle."

Emily gave a snort of laughter. "That's a bummer, considering her heritage, but seriously? Spaghetti?"

Aurora nodded. "At least Zadie's irrational fear is normal for a small child. She freaks out at the sound of a vacuum."

"Poor baby." Emily laughed and then wrinkled as she felt a stirring in her womb.

"What is it?"

Emily leaned back in her seat and blew out a breath as she rubbed her middle. "It's nothing. Twenty-five years is just a long time in between pregnancies, and things are slightly different this time around because I turned a particular number on my birthday this year."

The equation Emily was avoiding was basic math, and the number in question was forty.

"Then at least answer me one more thing about pregnancy before the food comes and it gets weird."

"Fire away."

"What have you and JJ been craving _now?"_

"There are normal things, and even things that neither of us can process the other liking because the combinations are so odd, but the mutual thing seems to be vegetables, actually."

"Vegetables." Aurora echoed blankly.

"Yep, and it isn't that surprising."

"Why?"

Emily grinned. "Not only are JJ and I always eerily in sync, but your baby siblings are literally going to be siblings, if you catch my drift. JJ and I are more in sync than ever because of that."

Aurora totally caught Emily's drift, and lit up with joy; now she really wanted to see JJ again.

Before she could say anything to that, however, their food came and their conversation soon drifted to other things, including different ways Emily could propose to JJ.

They chatted at length as they ate dinner and even dessert together, although on the way back to Noir Crescent, Aurora became quiet again.

Just before she said goodbye as Emily's car sat idling in the driveway, she said one last thing to her mother.

"Emily, how did you know that you were in _love_ with JJ?"

Without any hesitation, Emily answered, "All of the songs made sense. Does that help?"

"Yes." she smiled.

Aurora had reached that conclusion the second she realized that she was in love with Spencer, but she just wanted to see if that sense of certainty was one more thing that Emily had passed on to her.

She was glad it was.


	12. Reunions Again

The week passed by in a heartbeat for Aurora, and the next thing she knew, it was already Sunday, and she was going to be seeing her grandparents.

"Alice, do you have everything you want to bring?"

Alice pointed at a rucksack on a chair beside her. "All there!"

"Okay, cool…"

Sensing her mother's nervousness, Alice clambered up on to the chair and then beckoned to Aurora. When they were face-to-face, Alice hugged her mother and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek in reassurance.

"I love you, mommy."

"And _I_ love _you."_ Aurora told her in complete sincerity. "Are you ready to go?"

Alice gave herself a once-over. She was dressed in a very adorable cardigan-dress-and-leggings ensemble, but to prepare for the cooler temperatures outside, she was wearing a long, hooded forest-green hooded coat over her outfit. Around her neck was a dark blue scarf, while on her hands were matching dark blue mittens, and on her feet were fur-lined yellow boots. She felt like an exotic penguin because even she moved, she could only move her arms in a short range of motion and waddled instead of walked.

"All ready!" Alice giggled as she dusted imaginary dust off her mother's own winter clothing. "What 'bout you and the baby?"

"We're both ready." Aurora told her as she helped Alice put on her ladybug-shaped rucksack and help her down from the chair. "And that was very nice of you to ask; thank you."

Alice became bashful as she took her mother by the hand and looked up at her. "Are you ready to go? For real?"

"Yep! Let's go!"

And so they left.

* * *

Meanwhile, at her parents' house, Emily was waiting on Aurora and Alice. JJ had already left the previous morning on the train to see her family and meet her new nephew, so Emily was already feeling even more jittery because her girlfriend usually calmed her down in these kinds of situations, meaning that by the time she caught up with her parents, she was a bundle of nerves. They were also nervous, but for their offspring's benefit, they pulled themselves together and calmed her as best as they could.

When her jitters had somewhat quieted, Emily get a text from Aurora saying that she and Alice were very close by.

At that update, the elder Prentisses headed to the kitchen to check on the food, that it was progressing as it needed to.

Emily looked down at her baby bump and gave it a tickle. "What do you think, Little One? Your sister and your niece are almost here!"

The baby just wiggled.

Emily smiled and rubbed her bump, as always relishing in the fact that there as a tiny life growing inside there; attempting to get pregnant again at such a late age had been a huge gamble for a variety of reasons, especially when the doctors warned her that it would probably be the the last time that she'd ever be able to do it, so she was enjoying every moment of it.

And when she caught sight of herself in a nearby mirror, her smile grew as she reflected on the past twenty-five years. She'd come a long way from the last time that she, her daughter, and her parents had all been in a room together. Last time, she'd been in her mid-teens and recovering from fourteen hours of labor, and inconsolable.

Now, she was twenty-five years older, for starters, and she even had a job where she hunted bad guys down (or as she'd told Alice, she and JJ 'slayed dragons'). The people she worked with were as good as her family, and speaking of which, it did her heart incredibly well to see that Aurora had a family of her own while she, Emily, was in a happy realstionship with the woman she knew she was going to marry—the love of her life. The icing on top was that they were expecting babies together, expanding their unique family. Emily really couldn't ask for more because she'd never been so happy before.

It had been a long road to get to this particular moment, but knowing that a night like this would be at the finish line made it all worth it.

 _DING DONG!_

At the sound of the doorbell, Emily felt her stomach do a gigantic somersault, and after calling to parents to stay put in the kitchen, she hurried over to the front door and answered it, letting the guests of honor in.

"Hello, babies!" she greeted them brightly as she helped them take off their coats and shoes. "How are you?"

Alice pointed to her stomach. "We've got flutterbyes."

"She isn't wrong." Aurora confirmed as they looked around. "When did you move here, again?"

"After Italy, and it became our permanent home. We've been here ever since." Emily took Aurora by the hand. "You guys ready? My parents are in the kitchen."

Emily's companions confirmed they were both ready, so they followed her.

Elizabeth and Harrison were just shutting the oven door and setting the hot food pans on the counter as the trio entered.

"Mother? Daddy?" Emily called softly. "Aurora and Alice are here."

They both looked up from their tasks, and as they took in the sight of their fully-grown grandbaby and her daughter for the first time, you could have heard a pin drop as Aurora approached them.

Elizabeth broke the silence first, speaking softly, very much in awe of the woman before her.

"Aurora, you are _very_ beautiful."

One compliment was all it took for Aurora to start up the waterworks that she'd spent all day both anticipating and holding back. Elizabeth and Harrison were also messes because they'd thought of Aurora often over the years, and now she was in their kitchen, all grown up, happy and healthy, and so beautiful. This was everything that they had ever wanted for her.

Harrison wiped Aurora's tears for her. "Dear girl, you look _just_ like Emily."

A bright red flush creeped across Aurora's tan features.

"I know someone who looks even _more_ like her."

Turning, she beckoned to her daughter, who had been clutching the skirt of Emily's dress this whole time, wanting security as she tried to calm her stomach butterflies down. When she saw that she was being summoned, she immediately let go of Emily's dress and went to her mother, who promptly scooped her up and sat her on her hip.

"This is my baby girl, Alice Rose." Aurora kissed her daughter's cheek and asked her a question. "Will you say hello to Nana Emmy's parents? That's Nana Elizabeth and Opa Harrison!"

Alice dissolved into giggles out of pure nerve and blew them kisses. "Hi!"

Emily's parents were immediately charmed, and on a whim, Harrison asked his great-granddaughter, "Alice Rose, is it alright if I hold you?"

Alice gave him permission, and when she was in Harrison's arms, she immediately melted into his hug, enjoying it, along with him and Elizabeth both fawning over her. When that had subsided, Elizabeth looked back to see Aurora caressing the petite bulge in her middle.

The older woman looked at her knowingly. "Aurora, are we getting another great-grandchild?"

Aurora nodded and framed her middle with both hands, proudly showing it off. "Yes, but he or she won't be here until the summertime, though."

"Come here."

Aurora drew even closer to her grandmother and soon became enveloped in a hug, too.

Emily watched from the other side of the kitchen, loving every moment.

"Emily?"

She jumped at the sound of her name. "Sorry, what?"

Harrison laughed softly at his daughter. "I said, why don't you and the girls go have a seat in the dining room? We'll bring the food out now."

"Alright."

As she herded the other two out of the room, she told them something extra.

"If you two are very good and eat everything—even dessert—I'll give you a tour of the house!"

A statement like that was _really_ saying something because the House Of Prentiss was old and huge, complete with a few hidden features. There was always an adventure to be had.

* * *

Over dinner, Aurora was even more comfortable with her grandparents to the point where she was happily telling them about adventures with Spencer, her life as a teacher, and also about Minerva and Rebel, and of course, her family in New York. Elizabeth and Harrison even became very excited and started planning a small welcome-to-the-family gathering, or something along those lines for when Juliana and Zadie moved to town.

Alice also got her say in, but it wasn't until she heard there was going to be chocolate cake for dessert that she began to babble about all of the scientific facts she had crammed into her tiny noggin to anyone who would listen.

When dinner was over, Emily gave Aurora and Alice a complete tour of the house, including a secret passage from a closet in the hallway to her old bedroom.

"And this is my r—what are you guys doing here?"

Having easily calculated their daughter's route, Elizabeth and Harrison met Emily, Aurora, and Alice at the last stop.

"Well, we couldn't let the girls' first visit here go by without presents!"

Emily nodded understandingly, seeing the logic, but when Aurora opened her mouth to protest that it wasn't necessary, Elizabeth silenced her with a very pointed look. Aurora immediately changed tracks and spoke to Alice, who was looking at a bookshelf that had loads of pieces of memorabilia of Emily's childhood.

"Come on, Ladybug! There's presents for us on the bed from Nana Emmy's parents!"

Alice immediately made a beeline for the bed.

Emily stood in the doorway, watching Aurora and Alice open their presents and show each other their new treasures.

"I never ever thought I'd be able to see something like this." she said as her throat got clogged up with emotion. "It's literally a dream come true."

"It's a dream come true for us, too." Harrison told her.

"Breathe in, breathe out." soothed Elizabeth.

Emily did as told, and after a few moments, she said, "I'm alright now, mother."

"There's a good girl."

"Emily?" Aurora called out suddenly as she took a break in her present-opening to check on her phone. "You are coming to New York City with Spencer, Alice, and I next weekend. JJ, too."

Emily was completely thrown. "I beg your pardon? What about work?"

"I'm finally on vacation, thank you very much, but JJ told me to tell you that everything has been taken care of—we leave on Friday afternoon and come back on Sunday night."

"You and JJ teamed up when I wasn't looking, didn't you?"

"Yes." Aurora said with great pride. "Yes, we did."

"If you two can pull something like this off without me noticing, I'm scared to see what would happen if you went shopping for party supplies together." Emily sighed. _"Please_ tell me your parents know."

"Who do you think pressed the invitation and is footing the train tickets?"

Emily genuinely didn't know what to say and looked like a confused puppy.

Elizabeth kissed her temple and quipped, "You _were_ wishing for a busy holiday season."

"Nana Emmy, lookit!" Alice called out, waving a book at her. "You can come read with me, please?"

Powerless to resist, Emily immediately joined her, pulling into her lap and making a big deal about how the book was about one of Alice's favorite things—animals. Just across from them, Aurora remained absorbed in opening her presents.

They were each lost in their own world and forgot that Elizabeth and Harrison were watching.

They didn't even notice when Elizabeth and Harrison left, closing the door quietly behind them, not wanting to ruin the moment.


	13. New York, New York

The week went by fast for Emily after that, and before she knew it, it was time for her and her family to get ready for their train trip to New York City. On the day of, she and JJ just had one last miniature project left, literally: babysitting Alice for a little bit while her parents ran a few last-minute errands before they returned so they could leave together as a group.

* * *

It was a bit of a project getting Aurora to leave, but with Spencer gently reminding her that they'd be back in two hours and JJ informing her that they'd just made lunch, she relaxed and let Spencer steer her out of the house.

"You know," Emily said to JJ as she closed the door behind the younger couple. "They probably left so they could—"

"Shhh!" JJ hissed, covering Alice's ears with her hands. "First of all, _ew,_ and we've got little ears here! Second, they're our family, and third—when we get married, Spencer will be our _son-in-law,_ and Aurora will be my _stepdaughter!"_

Emily had said what she had just to push JJ's buttons, and when she saw that it had succeeded, she turned to her granddaughter.

"Alice, baby, are you hungry?"

Alice moved JJ's hands from her ears and giggled as she replied, "Yes, Nana Emmy!"

"We're having spaghetti!"

Emily had remembered what Aurora had said about Alice's irrational fear of spaghetti noodles, and she'd told JJ about it. They decided to help Alice conquer her fear, once and for all.

Predictably, Alice moved closer to JJ and looked up at her, even keeping one of her tiny hands on the side of JJ's baby bump to keep herself centered as she looked up at her.

"Nana JJ, it is true?"

JJ caressed the little one's hair, amused that she was very close to one of her future playmates and had no idea.

"Yes, dove." JJ smiled at the little one. "It's all true, but before you start to panic, I want to ask you a question."

Alice loved questions and immediately gave JJ her full attention. "What it is?"

"Did you know that your mommy comes from a country on the other side of the world called Italy?"

"Uh-huh!" Alice moved a few steps back and made a circular motion with her hands, like she was drawing a circle in the air. "Mommy showed me on the map!"

"Very good." JJ praised. "Spaghetti and noodles like that are eaten a _lot_ in Italy."

Alice arched an eyebrow, skeptical. "How much a lot?"

"Every day."

Now Alice was curious, more than anything else, but she looked back at Emily, who immediately read the look on her face.

"Nana is definitely telling the truth." she told her. "Alice Rose, why don't you like noodles?"

Alice gave a comical shudder. "They're like octopus arms."

Emily sympathized, "I can see why you'd think that, but I _promise_ you that spaghetti noodles have absolutely nothing to do with octopus arms."

"Really?"

"Really." Emily held a hand out to her. "Will you come try what we made for you?"

Alice weighed everything over in her mind before taking Emily's hand.

"Okay!" she chirped. "We can look at books after?"

"We can do anything you want." JJ replied as she started herding Alice and Emily to the dining area. "We bought toys and books for you to play with whenever you come visit us!"

Alice was both enthralled and surprised by talk of new toys, and she thought about looking for them first, but her hunger won out, so she happily sat down to what turned out to be a very fun lunch.

The best part? She was completely cured of her noodle fear and even asked for seconds.

* * *

The next two hours were filled with Emily and JJ showing Alice her new toys and playing with her. They also told her about the babies, and she was completely over the moon, pausing every now and then to narrate her activities and thought process to the little ones. She also showered lots of love on them like they were her own siblings.

At one point, Emily and JJ informed her that they had to some quick last-minute packing, and wanting to feel helpful and important, she offered to sit on the suitcases to weigh them down so they could be zipped shut. She asked so politely that Emily and JJ didn't have the willpower to say no.

Just as that was accomplished, the doorbell rang, and Alice happily skipped between Emily and JJ as they all headed to the front door together.

"Hi, mommy and daddy!" Alice greeted them as they entered and shut the door behind themselves. "Guess what?"

Spencer scooped his daughter up in his arms and gave her a hug. "What's that, Ladybug?"

Alice held Spencer's face in both of her hands. "I ate spaghetti!"

Spencer was genuinely surprised, as was Aurora, who looked over at the other two.

"You guys got Alice to eat spaghetti?"

JJ nodded proudly. "Not only that, but we _cured_ her of her fear."

"How?"

"By explaining that noodles are a major dish of the country her mother was born in, and now she's extremely proud." Emily winked.

"And," JJ tacked on. "She had two plates!"

"Well," Aurora turned to Alice and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You go play for awhile while the grown-ups get ready for the train station, alright? One of us will come find you if you don't find one of us first!"

Alice hugged Aurora before saying, "Okay, mommy!" and wiggling out of Spencer's arms, making a beeline for her playroom.

When she was gone, Emily spoke to her daughter. "How much time before the taxi comes?"

Aurora checked her watch. "We've got forty-five minutes, but I'm sure we can all figure out something to do."

Indeed, Aurora and Spencer passed the time by making sure everybody's luggage was in order. JJ started to help them, but she stopped when she suddenly came down with a case of the jitters.

Emily pulled her aside, away from the others. "Jayje, talk to me—you've got the jitters worse than I do!"

"I know I said age is just a number, but what if Aurora's parents judge me because I'm only two years older than their oldest child?"

Emily didn't blame JJ at all for having those thoughts because after all, the elder Van Koeks were less than ten years older than she was.

"Hey," she said gently. "If Aurora already adores you and has never once been put off by the age difference, the something tells me that Luuk and Jessica—the people who raised her—won't be, either. They'll be so happy to meet you and they'll want to be friends with you."

"Just like how Aurora saw me first as a friend, and not just the woman who her bio-mom is living her life with?"

Emily kissed her girlfriend's forehead. "Exactly. I'm sure you've realized by now that friends are the family you choose, and that family also comes in all shapes and sizes."

"Yeah, I've realized that." JJ smiled sheepishly. "I guess I need reminding, every now and then."

"And that's perfectly okay."

To drive the point home, Emily held JJ's fingers to her lips and kissed them a few times. JJ was immediately reduced to giggles because of the crazy hormones racing through her body, but also because she had always been powerless to resist Emily's kisses. But JJ was finally herself again.

Suddenly, a small giggle could be heard—Alice had joined them, she was all dressed for the cold weather outside.

"What's up, dove?" JJ asked her.

"Mommy say it's time-a go!"

* * *

One long train ride later, the family had arrived in New York City, and were being escorted from Penn Station in a high-end town car that was being driven by the Van Koek family chauffeur, Lars.

The ride to Aurora's childhood home was only ten minutes, but to Emily, it felt shorter, and the next thing she knew, she, JJ, Aurora, Spencer, and Alice were piling out of the car as Lars told them that he would bring their luggage inside. Emily barely heard him because she was taking in the sight of the nicest brownstone she'd ever seen in all of her trips to New York. Emily knew her daughter had been brought up with family money, but the grandeur, even from the outside was already giving Emily's own childhood a run for its money.

"Come on!" Aurora led her family up the short flight of stone steps. "Nobody bites, and they're expecting us!"

Naturally, Spencer and Alice were the first to follow her. JJ was next, and Emily brought up the rear. They emerged into a mudroom of sorts and were helped by several maids with taking off their winter gear.

After that, Aurora led them into what looked like a small receiving area that branched out to other areas of the house.

Aurora called out, a little surprised that the rest of her large, noisy family were in another part of the house.

"Mom? Dad? We're home!"


	14. The Van Koek House

Luuk and Jessica VanKoek were in the front hall very quickly, and when they saw Emily, they had eyes only for her.

"Come on, Emily." Aurora guided her mother gently by the hand. "They don't bite."

Emily couldn't help it, but the closer she got to Luuk and Jessica, the more teary-eyed she became. These were the people who had chosen her daughter, brought her home and loved her, and raised her. She never thought she'd meet them, let alone find Aurora again, yet… here they were.

They were both dressed casually, but still in a way that made for a good impression. Just as Emily had thought the first time she'd seen their picture, they were very good looking and probably somewhere within ten years of her age.

The thought was dashed from Emily's head altogether when Jessica spoke to her.

"Oh, please don't cry, sweet Emily." she held her hand and reached out, wiping the tears that were falling down her face. "Luuk and I are just as nervous about this as you are."

Emily surprised herself by being able to talk. "I-I never thought that this would ever happen, and I owe you two _everything!_ Plus, after Aurora and I parted ways in Italy, my mother bought your cookbooks and used the recipes to teach me how to cook!"

Jessica's heart immediately swelled with love and she pulled Emily into a warm hug, which to Emily, was warm and seemed to last forever. It was exactly how she'd imagined things going between them.

When they pulled apart, Jessica wiped Emily's tears again and kissed her on the forehead. "Then this means that you and I have _already_ been bonded for twenty-five years, hm?"

"Yeah, I suppose it does." Emily managed a smile. "I like it."

"So do I." Jessica gave Emily's hands an affectionate squeeze. "Now how about you go say hello to Luuk?"

The man in question also hugged Emily, and when he spoke, his voice was deep and had a Dutch lilt to it.

"Thank you for giving us Aurora. Our lives have been made better because of her."

Emily just about melted at that and had to focus even harder to not lose her composure again. "What an awesome thing to hear—I've always wondered how well she'd fit in with the family who chose her."

"She fits in perfectly, and her siblings have always looked up to her."

Emily's heart jumped at the mention of Aurora's siblings because they were in the house and she hadn't seen them yet. She wanted to say something about, but her words got caught in her throat, so Aurora stepped stepped forward with JJ, wanting to introduce her to her properly.

She touched JJ's elbow in indication as she spoke to her parents. "Mom, dad, this is Spencer's and Emily's colleague from work, Jennifer Jareau. She and Emily are to be engaged and married at some point, and when that happens, she'll be my stepmom, but we're already becoming very good friends, and I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Now JJ was the one turning to mush and struggling maintain her own composure, but after she'd hugged Luuk and Jessica, Aurora whispered something in her ear and then looked at her, eyebrows raised. JJ immediately took a step back.

"Hey!" Emily protested when she noticed the interaction. "When did you two develop a secret best friends code?"

"While you weren't looking." Aurora said puckishly before turning her attention back to JJ. "I haven't said a word about _that_ because I wanted to leave it to you and Emily."

Aurora's parents looked to her younger ones expectantly.

"What is it?" Jessica asked.

Emily took a breath and slowly let it out. "Aurora is going to be a big sister again—JJ and I are both pregnant!"

Jessica and Luuk hugged Emily and JJ again, even more thrilled. They already knew about Aurora's baby and they were delighted for her, especially because they adored Spencer and couldn't imagine anyone better for Aurora than him. Finding out that she was getting more siblings made them ecstatic.

Once the hubbub subsided, Aurora turned to Emily and JJ. "Let's let my parents catch up with Spencer and Alice; I want to see if we can find Juliana, Katrinka, Maxwell, and Zadie."

"Where would they be?" Emily asked.

"In the kitchen. Follow me."

Emily and JJ followed Aurora down a hallway whose walls were lined with pictures of the family throughout the years, and before long, they were in a large kitchen and adjoining dining area, both of which Emily had seen in a recent issue of _Sunset_ magazine.

She barely had time to register this when there was a sudden rush of activity as the rest of Aurora's family abandoned the board game they'd been playing, hugging her and gushing over her baby bump. Emily's heart swelled with emotion as she watched Aurora interact with all of them—there was a lot of love there.

It was clear that Aurora was the ringleader because after everyone calmed and Zadie even gave her a hug around the waist before dashing out of the room, calling for Spencer and Alice, Juliana, Katrinka, and Maxwell gathered in a gaggle, waiting for Aurora to make the first move.

"Rory," Juliana said after introductions were made. "Are these your parents? They're gorgeous!"

Aurora beamed proudly—that was the first time anyone had referred to Emily and JJ together as her parents, and it made her very proud. Even Emily and JJ were flattered.

"Yes! These are my parents, Emily and JJ, and guess what? They both know Spencer because they're all part of the same profiling team at the FBI!"

They were all deeply impressed, and Maxwell quipped, "Well, now we know where Aurora gets her good looks from."

Katrinka flicked her brother on his ear. "How is _that_ the first thing you say?!"

"But why did you have to flick me on the ear?" Maxwell whined, rubbing the injured body part. "When will you stop that?"

"The day you figure out subtlety or what a filter is…"

"Why, I—"

Aurora intervened, separating them as she issued in Dutch what sounded like a playful warning.

Juliana stepped forward. "Those three have always been like the Three Musketeers whenever they're together, and I'm the one who stays out of the way. Are you two hungry or anything after the trip up here? We were playing Monopoly with Zadie while we were waiting for you all to arrive, and now that you have, I've been instructed to tell you two specifically that Max, Kitty, and I are at your disposal."

Juliana was in some kind of 'hostess' mode, so Emily and JJ just rolled with it.

"I'm good for now," Emily told her. "But thank you, Juliana."

"We're all family here, so please call me Julie," she winked. "And just let me know."

She turned to JJ to see her sitting down at one of the chairs at the table and rubbing her middle. The sight threw Juliana for a loop.

"You're _pregnant,_ JJ?"

"Yes, and so is Emily."

Juliana's heart leapt for joy, but she also felt a little confused as she turned to Aurora.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Aurora was already getting a glass of water for JJ. When the blond accepted the drink and thanked her before quenching her thirst, Aurora turned back to her sister.

"It wasn't my news to share," she said with a shrug. "But just think of how full our lives are going to be when you and Zay come to D.C., and you meet our students. We're still learning about different family types."

Juliana sighed. "If the kids jump when you sneeze, then they're going to be _really_ confused when we tell them that you and I are sisters."

"You _still_ haven't told them?" JJ interjected, knowing full well of Aurora's major teaching plans for the upcoming months. "Ro, do they at least know that you've gone and found your Prince Charming and that you're expecting a baby?"

Aurora shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. "No?"

Emily held her hands in the 'time out' position. "Seriously, Jayje? Now you call her Ro?"

"What can I say, babe? She _will_ be my stepdaughter when you and I tie the knot, but she's my friend _now,_ and we were talking about her teaching plans when we planned this trip."

"And _that_ was _when?"_

"Recently, when I was in my office at work. It's _amazing,_ the things you can get done when your work space isn't in a noisy bullpen."

Emily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What am I going to do with you two?"

"Love us anyway?"

"Sounds about right."

Juliana voiced a new thought as it popped into her head. "Aurora, have you at least told _them_ about you-know-what?"

"Told us what?" Emily and JJ asked together.

"Man, our family is _weird."_ Maxwell muttered. "This went from zero to sixty _really_ fast."

Next to him, Katrinka nodded. "I know that's right."

Just as she said her piece, the others walked in, led by Jessica. She wanted to see about getting all of the luggage upstairs, but she, Luuk, Spencer, Alice, and Zadie were greeted by the abrupt silence that had just fallen.

Jessica put her hands on her hips. "Okay, what? Our guests haven't even been here for a half hour yet!"

Maxwell answered her. "Nothing, mom. We've just learned that Emily and JJ fit in _very_ well here."

"Good. Now please go help Spencer and your father bring the luggage upstairs."

"What? Why me?"

"Because I'm your mother? Because I need Julie and Kitty to help finish making lunch? Take your pick."

Maxwell got up and gave Jessica an exaggerated bow before heading out of the room with Luuk and Spencer.

Wanting Jessica's attention and with Alice at her side, holding her hand, Zadie addressed her.

"Oma! Oma! Oma!"

"Indoor voice, my tiny love, but what is it?"

In perfect Dutch, Zadie queried, "Hoe zit met ons?"

Jessica replied in kind. "Jij en Alice kunt gaan spelen."

The little girls called out, "Danke!" in unison, blew Jessica kisses of thanks and hurried out of the room together.

"Alice knows Dutch?" Emily asked in surprise.

Aurora nodded as she motioned for her to sit at the table with JJ before following in suit. "We all do because it's our second language. She and Zadie took to it very quickly because we taught them at the same time."

"What did Alice ask Jessica just now?

"If there was anything needed of them, but she just told them to go play and they said thank you."

Aurora looked over at Jessica.

"Mom, is there anything you need of _me?"_

Jessica quickly instructed Juliana and Katrinka to go set the table for lunch before answering her.

"No, sweet pea. You just hang out at the table with JJ."

"I can do that."

Jessica gave her approval before requesting Emily's company in the kitchen.

"Yes?" Emily asked politely.

"I'm cooking a few of Aurora's favorite things, but I still need to make something healthy; how well do you know my cookbooks?"

"Like the back of my hand. I have all of them."

"Perfect." Jessica motioned towards the counter beside her where the ingredients were laid out for one last part of the meal. "Will you make the Watercress-Fruit Salad for me?"

Nearly tripping over air because the question was coming from one of her personal heroes, Emily nodded and started washing her hands in the sink.

"Sure. Anything I should know before I start?"

"Only that I'm dying to know what you were like when you were a wee little thing. Will you indulge me in a few questions?"

"I would _love_ to."


	15. Evening

Dinner with the Van Koeks was a very enjoyable event, although something happened during dessert on Luuk's part that made it all even more enjoyable.

"So this is mostly for Emily and JJ because I already know what everyone else is going to say," he began. "But do either of you like football?"

Immediately, JJ flashed back to almost two years ago when she and Spencer had gone to a football game together. She'd loved every moment of it, and she'd even enjoyed explaining the game to Spencer, but she hadn't been to a game since, and she missed the excitement of it. In the nostalgia and reminiscing, she'd almost missed Emily's response.

"The Kentucky Derby is more my thing," the brunette admitted. "But _JJ_ is a football fan, through and through."

Luuk raised an eyebrow at JJ, interested. "Are you, now?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "My dad was a high school teacher, but on the weekends, we'd watch football together."

"What team do you support?"

"The Steelers because I'm from a small town in Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh."

"Well, it's your lucky day—the Steelers are playing the Giants at the MetLife Stadium tomorrow, and I have a ticket for myself and one other person to the luxury box. Alice and Zadie will want to come because they love football, too, and they always get in for free, but would you like to come with me?"

"Oh, my gosh, yes! What time do we leave?"

"Eleven, sharp. Think you can manage?"

Grinning, JJ nodded and continued on with her dessert as Luuk addressed Alice and Zadie in Dutch, telling them about his plans for the next day and inviting them. The girls' loud squeals of delight were taken as a confirmation, but then a few seconds later, JJ was taken by surprise when she felt Alice and Zadie hugging her around her waist before they ran off upstairs, chattering with each other.

"Okay, what was that?" she asked, feeling warm and fuzzy as she straightened her shirt.

Katrinka supplied, "Dad invited the little kids to football and they said yes, but he also told them that you're going and they're deliriously happy about the whole thing. They're probably going over what to wear."

Juliana stood immediately and gave a nervous laugh. "As much as those two adore each other and love sharing clothes, they have been known to fight about it, so I'm going to go be their peacemaker."

She left the room with Spencer following her since Alice was involved, too.

Seizing an opportunity to speak, Jessica looked to Emily, who was across the table from her. "Since JJ is going to football, would you like to come see a tour of where I work and film my show? Aurora mentioned the other day wanting to show it off to you, so she will definitely be coming along."

Emily's heart jumped because she'd been dreaming of a chance for that very opportunity for twenty-five years.

"Jessica, I would _love_ that!" Emily quickly turned to Katrinka and Maxwell. "What about you guys, though? Everyone but you two and Spencer are doing something."

Katrinka sighed theatrically. "Julie suckered us into coming with her on a shopping trip tomorrow for when she and Zadie move to D.C."

"Tomorrow is the only day we were available, and Spencer doesn't know it, but he's coming with us." added Maxwell.

"At least _Rory_ isn't coming. Shopping with her and Julie is not for the faint of heart."

"Kitty Cat," Aurora shot at her sister. "That was _one time,_ and you make it sound like we _starved_ you guys!"

Katrinka rolled her eyes. "It was a five-hour shopping day for mom at Christmastime that involved mostly clothes, and we didn't eat until hour three, Shortstack!"

Aurora turned red at the mention of the nickname and gave a huff of indignation. When she looked at Emily and JJ, she wanted to slide down in her seat because they were both looking at her with surprise, intrigue, and raised eyebrows.

"I used to be really short." Aurora mumbled to her mothers. "Kitty is still smaller than me, but I didn't catch up to Julie until we were twelve, and she called me Shortstack in the meantime. Kitty and Max thought it was hilarious, and after all these years, the name is quite stuck."

"But all of this to say," Emily chortled. "That your beau and your siblings are busy tomorrow?"

"Apparently so."

Emily turned back to Jessica. "I'll be ready whenever you need."

"Then does eleven-thirty sound good?"

"It sounds perfect."

Jessica turned to Aurora and asked her a question in Dutch. Aurora promptly turned red and nodded in understanding before she stood and beckoned to her other mothers.

"Come on." she said in English. "Jessica said I should show you two my room."

Immediately interested because they'd seen every room but their daughter's, Emily and JJ got up and followed Aurora out.

* * *

The Van Koeks lived in a very big, roomy townhouse, but just because of the way it was designed, Aurora's room was at the end of a hallway and had a window that overlooked the back garden.

A white sign on an iron door bore the words, 'Rory's Room' in green letters.

"This is where I sleep. Watch this."

Aurora opened her door, although instead of her door opening on hinges, it slid to the side because it was on a track.

"The way the story goes is that this house was a bit of a fixer-upper when my parents bought it, and the door that was already here needed replacing. They found a door from an old warehouse loft and put it here."

"That's neat." Emily remarked. "I've never seen that on a bedroom door before."

"Neither have I." added JJ.

"Then you probably haven't seen a bedroom type like mine, either. Come in, but watch your step—I can't tell you how many times Alice and Zadie have tripped over the track."

Heeding Aurora's words, Emily and JJ stepped carefully over the threshold of the bedroom and entered as Aurora closed the door behind them.

Aurora's bedroom looked like something out of a story book.

A huge sleigh bed stood in the corner of the room that was made of black cherry wood and even had a canopy drape atop in that matched the light blue blankets on her bed. Even the curtains were the same blue shade. Her desk and all of the shelving units were also made of black cherry wood, but the floor beneath their feet was a huge purple shag rug. A pair of huge ceiling-to-floor mirrors near a black wooden door that Emily presumed led to a bathroom suggested a walk-in closet.

The walls were an almost navy blue color with a huge wraparound mural of a forest with fairies, elves, and other numerous woodland creatures. Emily also saw Doctor Who's TARDIS painted in one corner, and Hogwarts castle in another. If she wasn't mistaken, she even saw Tinker Bell and Peter Pan flying amongst an array of stars. And speaking of those, the ceiling above was covered in tons of plastic stars that glowed in the dark.

It was clear that Aurora was the dreamer of the family.

"Aurora, your bedroom is beautiful," Emily told her. "And so _you."_

Aurora turned even redder than she had at the table. "Thanks, Emily."

"Who painted the room?" JJ wanted to know.

"Me, Julie, Kitty, and Max, about five years ago, and we did it all in one weekend, too. Mom and dad stuck the stars on for me when we were done." she explained. "Alice and Zadie love the stars, and they've been known to sneak into my room to look at them after dark because they're in a rainbow theme."

"That's adorable."

Emily nodded in agreement. "It is, but why did you blush when Jessica told you to bring us up here?"

"Because," she crossed to the other side of the room by her desk and motioned for them to follow. "Then you'd see all of my medals and trophies from the sport I took up when I was a kid—we all had to learn a sport, a foreign language in addition to Dutch, or else an instrument. There was also studying abroad, and that was optional, but we all did it because that was how our parents met."

"You were still the overachiever and went for foreign language, sports, and music, though, didn't you?"

"I learned Italian and studied in Italy because I wanted to know more about where I was born. I also learned how to play the violin, and I still play all the time. I played a lot for Alice when I was pregnant with her, and she kicked me for the first time during practice for a recital because she loved the sound. She still does."

Emily felt her heart swelling with even more love and joy for her daughter—Aurora had lived the kind of life that she'd wanted for her, and more.

"If you went to Italy, where did your sisters and brother go?"

"We all went to the same high school and they offered a variety of programs that allowed us to go before we graduated, but while I was in Italy, Julie went to Sydney, and when it was time for Kitty's turn, she went London. Max did the Semester at Sea program and had a ball."

"That's all wonderful, sweetheart," Emily said sincerely. "But you're beating around the bush. What was your sport?"

"What sports did you two do?" Aurora challenged.

"I did soccer." JJ chirped before turning to Emily, only to see that she had gone as red as Aurora had earlier. _"What_ , pray tell, did _you_ do?"

"Well, I was born in _Ukraine_ while mother was posted there, but moved to _London_ when I was a baby, and I lived there until just after I turned six. That was just enough time to learn cricket and get good at it."

JJ became gleeful. _"Cricket?_ It can't get _any_ more European than _that!"_

"I even honed my skills over the years because a lot of the countries we lived in over the years were countries where cricket was the thing."

Aurora put her hands on her hips. "You did something different when you came stateside again after Italy, huh?"

Emily turned even redder. "What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room, but since it was my first time living in the states and because mother was determined to 'stamp out' my goth ways, she enrolled me in ballroom dancing."

"Well," Aurora said through a snicker. "That makes me feel better—I did professional skateboarding."

Aurora stepped aside to show off a whole display case of her pictures, trophies, ribbons, and certificates of her achievements over the years.

"I do a lot of cooking, too, and I've been on mom's show a lot, but skateboarding has always been my thing because it feels like flying without having to get on an airplane or a rollercoaster."

Aurora said the last part with a shudder and Emily noticed. "You don't like flying? JJ, Spencer, and I fly at least twice a week. And no rollercoasters, either?"

"Pardon my language, but fuck no. Julie and a trip to Coney Island when we were twelve ruined roller coasters for me. Ferris Wheels are also not my thing."

JJ sighed and turned to Emily. "We've got a weird kid."

"We sure do." Emily agreed.

Aurora took a step back. "Don't tell me you two are thrill-seekers."

"Her, more than me." Emily said of JJ. "We'll get you to live dangerously at some point. Just take a breath for now and show us your skateboarding awards."

Pleased for a change in subject, Aurora showed off all of her awards—most of them were for first or second place, and while a lot of her competitions had taken her all over New York and even as far west as California, but some of her bigger competitions had taken her as far as London and Tokyo.

"Do you still skateboard?" Emily asked.

"Competitively, no." Aurora said with a shake of her head. "I retired just before I started college, but I still do it for fun."

"Does Alice know how?"

"No, but she barely has the balance or confidence for anything on wheels yet. She prefers chess with Spencer, anyway." Aurora pointed to her middle. "Hopefully this kid will be into mama's favorite sport."

"Hey," JJ said suddenly to Emily. "If you lived in London for so long when you were a kid, did you call soccer football?"

"You're still on that?!" Emily cried.

"Mhm, and I want an answer."

Well aware of Aurora taking the exchange in with a lot of glee, Emily rolled her eyes and said, "I _did_ grow up referring to American soccer as football, yes, and if you _must_ know, I _still_ do, but mostly when I'm with my parents because they bring out that side of me."

Aurora smirked. "And you two called _me_ weird..."

JJ opened her mouth to say something, but before could, Aurora's door slid open and Zadie was there, looking bashful.

Aurora greeted her. "Hey, Half Pint! What's up?"

Giggling hysterically, but only because she was nervous, the little girl beckoned to the lone blond in the room.

"Nana JJ, will you come look at books with me and Allie?"

"Of course!" JJ immediately made tracks towards her and held out a hand towards her. "Show me where your bedroom is, and we'll go!"

When Emily and Aurora were alone again and the door had been closed behind JJ and Zadie, mother and daughter sat down on the bed, amongst what appeared to be stacks and stacks of scrapbooks.

"Did Jessica make these?" Emily queried.

"Yep. She's raised four kids and two grandchildren, but on top of everything else she does, she's managed to document our lives very well."

Emily pointed to the nearest scrapbook. It was more like a thick tome, and it read 'Awards' in fancy gold lettering.

"What's this?"

"Mom has kept every single academic award I've ever gotten, but I know why."

"Oh?"

"Julie and Alice have books, too, but my parents have never treated me differently because I was adopted, and they've never treated Kitty, Max, or even Zadie differently because of their adoptions, either. They've also never kept it from us that we were adopted, but they also told us that if or when we wanted to look for our biological parents, they would help. You're still around, obviously, but Zadie's bio-parents died when she was three weeks old because their car was hit by a drunk driver. Julie has always made sure that Zadie knows that they loved her very much and wanted her before they died, though."

"What about Katrinka's and Maxwell's biological parents?"

Aurora shrugged. "They're mysteries because their adoptions were as tightly closed as possible, but back to the main point: all of our things were kept just in case we wanted to show them off to whomever we marry... or if we meet our biological parents again."

Emily already liked Jessica and Luuk Van Koek to begin with, but after hearing about the scrapbbooks had been made because they didn't want any of the adopted members of their family to lose their identity of where they had come from, she liked them even more.

At a loss for words, Emily hugged Aurora and when she pulled away, she asked, "Sweetheart, did you do well in school?"

"Yeah, actually, I did, and I even graduated at the top of my class in high school—out of two hundred people. I gave a speech, and everything."

Aurora rubbed her eyes as tears formed in them, and as means to comfort her offspring, Emily gave her a back rub.

"Deep breaths, Aurora. You can tell me anything."

Aurora calmed herself and looked at her mother through watery eyes. "I just always wondered, with every award I received or speech I gave, had you been able to see me, would you have been _proud_ of me?"

Emily framed Aurora's face in her hands. "I may not have known you then or seen you then, Aurora Hope, but I know you _now,_ and I'm so proud of you and everything that you've done. I'm proud of how kind and beautiful you are, how smart and athletic and musical you are, how your family looks up to you, and that you have a family of your own. You've made me _so_ proud in this short time that we've been reunited, and I'll be proud of you _forever."_

Aurora couldn't help it, but she burst into tears of relief; she'd been sitting on the question for awhile and hadn't realized until that moment how much it had been weighing on her.

Emily immediately pulled her daughter into her lap for hugs and kisses.

She'd known since they'd reentered each other's lives that they whole process of them getting used to each other and getting to know each other was going to be long, but all of it was everything that she'd ever wanted, so she was willing to be patient.

Emily had a feeling that this whole trip to New York, especially the conversation that they'd just had, was a breakthrough, and nothing made her happier.


	16. Football

Morning came quickly for Emily and JJ after they went to bed, and they were woken in a way that they weren't expecting.

"Mommy said to not to!" fussed a tiny, worried voice.

 _"My_ mommy didn't!" said a second, bossier voice.

It was Alice and Zadie. Dressed in full-on bunny pajamas, Alice looked very apprehensive about disturbing her nanas, while Zadie, dressed in a Cinderella nightgown and matching sleep cap and slippers, had her hands on her hips as she shot her cousin a "Get a grip!" expression that said she was a sissy. Both girls had managed to climb up onto the bed, and had been about to start the second phase of their plan when Alice had paused to voice her misgivings.

"Hello, babies." Emily greeted them as she and JJ sat up, stretched and rubbed the sleep from their eyes.

Alice nervously blew her a kiss, but didn't say anything.

JJ looked from one little girl to the next, eyebrows raised. "What are you two up to?"

Alice giggled nervously and turned to Zadie, who immediately caved, blurting, "We came to say time for up, so we can ready for football!"

JJ glanced at her phone on the bedside table, checking the time. "Zadie, baby, it's only seven-thirty."

"But I don't know how to tell time." Zadie said seriously.

Beside JJ, Emily smothered her laughter by laughing into a pillow.

JJ ignored her and continued to covers ate with Zadie. "You guys were going to do something else, huh?"

"We were going to jump."

"Well, thank you for not jumping, little one. There's an extra good reason we're glad you didn't."

Zadie's curiosity got the best of her. "How come?"

Cottoning on to what JJ was about to say, Emily chose to be mature again and set her pillow down before beckoning to the little kids.

"Come here, babies. Please."

Even more curious now, Alice parked herself in Emily's lap and Zadie got cozy with JJ.

Emily took a deep breath and slowly let it out before framing her middle. "There's a baby growing in my tummy right now."

Alice's mouth dropped open and she gaped at Emily surprise. "There's a _baby_ in your tummy, Nana Emmy? For real?"

"Totally for real."

"Because of wishing stars, like the baby in mommy's tummy?"

"Yes." Emily decided and gave her granddaughter a hug before turning to Alice's dark-skinned companion. "What do you think, Zadie?"

"I _love_ babies!" she chirped.

At that, JJ hugged her. "Good, because that isn't everything."

"It isn't?" Zadie and Alice asked in unison.

JJ kissed Zadie on the top of her head. "Uh-uh. THere's a baby in _my_ tummy, too."

THe little girls let out delighted squeals of joy, and the next thing Emily and JJ knew, they were getting kisses and hugs, mostly on their baby bumps, from Alice and Zadie.

"Emily? JJ?" suddenly came a voice from the other side of the closed bedroom door. "It's Aurora and Julie!"

"You guys can come in!" Emily called back.

The door opened and the two sisters entered, both dressed for the day. Juliana even had what looked like a travel mug of coffee in one hand, and she drank from it while Aurora looked apologetic.

"I should have told you that we're a family of early risers." she said hastily. "Sorry, you guys."

"Don't worry about it." Emily replied. "We are, too."

"Allie and Zay haven't been obnoxious, have they?" Juliana asked.

"Nope!"

Alice worked her way into the conversation. "Is it time for football?"

"No, Ladybug." Aurora told her. "How about you and Zadie bounce, hm? Daddy and Oma are making breakfast."

Alice And Zadie both lit up and slid off the bed, hurrying towards the bedroom door. Alice happily zoomed out into the hallway, but before Zadie joined her, she looked up at her mother.

"Is there a baby in your tummy?" Zadie asked her.

Thankful that she already had caffeine in her system, Juliana was able to respond very smoothly. _"You_ are my only baby, Zadie. None in my tummy."

Zadie sighed in dejection. "I just want a brother, mommy."

"Maybe when you're older, kid. Now go on and bounce with Cousin Alice, please."

Obedient, Zadie left. When it was just the adults, Aurora and Juliana looked at Emily and JJ in amusement.

"You guys told them about the babies?" Aurora guessed.

"Yes, and they're both totally over the moon." JJ gushed before speaking specifically to Juliana. "Sorry if Zadie starts badgering you with baby questions now."

Juliana immediately giggled. "I teach kindergarten for a living, so I'm very used to kids with one-track minds. It'll just be more practice for when I join Rora's class in January."

Added Aurora, "But Spencer and Jessica really _are_ cooking breakfast."

Having known Spencer the best and the longest, JJ failed to withhold a chortle. "Since when can your man cook?"

"Since he met me." Aurora smirked.

Juliana gave her sister a gentle prod. "Let's leave your mothers be and move along before Alice and Zadie get all the cantaloupe again."

Deciding that this was a good idea, Aurora bid the agents goodbye and followed her sister out, closing the door behind her.

* * *

The next few hours flew on by.

Since Jessica, Aurora, and Emily were going to be using the family car and the family driver, Luuk had planned ahead and reserved a chauffeured limo for him, JJ, Alice, and Zadie.

Once the ride was underway, the atmosphere was very casual. Alice and Zadie were chattering animatedly with each other animatedly in Dutch, and from what JJ was crudely deciphering, it sounded like they were talking about their clothes, which she found funny because under their winter gear, they were dressed identically in long-sleeved Giants Cheerleading uniforms. Even their hair was done up in pigtails being held in place with ribbons with the Giants logo and colors on them. As for Luuk and JJ, they were both dressed casually under their own winter gear, and sporting things that showed their support for their own favorite teams. They already got along well and were developing a father-daughter relationship, which JJ was loving, but after awhile, JJ became quiet and Luuk noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Nothing." JJ said honestly. "I was just thinking about my dad—the last time I went to a game with him was when I was in elementary school. It was the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the score was 52-10, Steelers."

Luuk arched an eyebrow. "Jessica and I were at that game, too."

This had JJ's attention immediately. "Really?"

"Oh, yes. She had a book signing in Pittsburgh, and I went with her because it was on our anniversary; in twenty-seven years of marriage, we've never been apart from each other on our anniversary."

"Not even once?"

"Not even once." he confirmed. "Jess loves football, too, and actually used it to help teach me English. But back to the point: she surprised me that year with a pair of luxury box tickets, and we had a grand old time. I still remember the 52-10 score, but I also remember that these events were seventeen years ago, dear one. How do you remember if you were in primary school at the time?"

JJ blushed spectacularly. "I remember the score because the numbers were mine and my dad's ages at the time. I also remember because I was the only kid left at home, and my dad really loved to do one-on-one stuff with me because he was a bit older than my mom, and I was his 'late in life' kid. I had a few friends when I was little, but my dad was my best friend."

"Where were your siblings, then?"

"My brother, Griffin, was already out of the house and living a life of his own because he's ten years older than me, and Rosaline, my sister, had graduated high school early and was away at college in Boston."

"I'm an only child, and so is Jessica, but Julie and Zadie will be moving in January, and Max is on course to graduate early—he will be moving to California, also in January, so he can start at the School of Medicine at Stanford because he really wants to be a pediatrician. Even Kitty has moving plans for January."

"What are they?"

"She's already graduated early, and she's headed to L'Acaidmie de Cuisine in Maryland, so who knows? You all might see her sometimes. All of our children love cooking, and all have been on Jessica's show over the years, but Kitty is the only one who has really shown interest in wanting to join her."

"So Kitty will, but she's determined to at least learn something away from Jessica." JJ mused and then counted names on her fingers for a quick moment before saying something else. "After she, Max, Julie and Zadie leave, this means that you and Jessica will be official empty-nesters."

"Bingo, and we'll understand how you probably felt as a child."

"Yeah, like I said, I had friends, but I was also alone a lot but I didn't mind it because I grew up on a farm with animals. Plus, my dad got me into my favorite sport, so things never got frightfully dull. His name was Ezekiel, and he would have really liked you, Luuk."

"Who was Ezekiel's favorite player, then?"

"Richard Champlain—my dad followed his career extensively for years and years because he was proud that they were both from the same rural town in Quebec."

"Jessica and I have been to Canada many, many times over the years because her show airs on quite a few networks up there and her fanbase is remarkably big, all across the board, but Quebec is definitely our favorite place to be. Where, specifically, was your father from?"

"Shawinigan, and his parents immigrated from Paris when he was five. He met my mom when she was a student at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, and he was giving a lecture. As far as Richard Champlain is considered, it was a serious case of hometown pride for my dad since Champlain's parents also immigrated from Paris to Quebec."

Luuk smiled, taking in everything that JJ was telling him. He already liked her, but all of the things he was hearing about her family was making him like her even more. He was also pleasantly surprised that the two of them had a lot in common, as JJ was about to find out.

"My parents immigrated from Rotterdam to New York after I graduated high school. Since Jessica was in my life, and I'd known from the first moment I met her that I was going to marry her, they wanted to be near us. Their business also wasn't doing too well, so they left to pursue the American Dream. They're both gone now, though, and the business has long since been sold."

"What were their names?"

"Levi and Anouk. They owned a Dutch imports shop, but they passed on from cancer when Aurora and Juliana were one. That being said, my parents were very proud of me and always made sure I did my best, but they never went overboard with pressuring me. To say that they were very proud of me for finishing all my schooling and that I got married and started a family was an understatement."

JJ smiled. "I never met my dad's parents, but from stories I've heard, they were just like yours. When my dad and I would watch the Steelers, he would always use the story of his favorite football player as an example of how dreaming big and hard work always pays off."

"It really does."

"We always imagined how cool it would be to meet him. I hear he owns the Steelers now, though. That would make my dad even more proud."

Luuk knew for a fact that the luxury box that they were going to be in always attracted VIP guests, and he'd heard through the grapevine that Richard Champlain was definitely on today's guest list. In that moment, he decided that he was going to give JJ the surprise of a lifetime.

"Anything is possible, dear JJ."

Thoroughly caught up in the moment, JJ hadn't even suspected that Luuk was hiding anything, so she just gave a nod of agreement.

"It definitely is."

All of a sudden, they heard Alice calling for them. "Opa! Nana JJ! We're here, we're here!"

Indeed, they'd arrived at the football staduim, and parking lot alone was already packed with so much activity, but there was also so much excitement in the air that JJ just knew that this was going to be a day to remember.


	17. The Luxury Box

Once inside the main admission area, JJ kept tabs on Alice and Zadie as Luuk found began to read the closest map. He had been to this stadium countless times over the years, but was usually a patron in the stands. This time, they were going to be in the main luxury box, and he hadn't any idea how to get to there. But he found the way, soon enough.

"This way, my dears." he beckoned to JJ, Alice, and Zadie. "The luxury box is at the top."

Beside JJ, Alice let out an audible groan. "Opa, going upstairs will take _forever!"_

"Not to worry—we're taking the elevator to the top!"

Alice's tune changed immediately, and she grinned. "Oh!"

Zadie, meanwhile, was completely different. She tugged on JJ's jacket, so picked her up.

"What are you thinking about?"

Zadie suddenly became nervous, and she played with JJ's necklace.

"C-could I call you nana?" she asked nervously.

"Sure."

"Nana, I don't like elevators. They give me funny feelings in my tummy."

"Oh, I totally get that." JJ hugged Zadie and tapped her on the nose. "I'll hold you until we get to the top floor, okay?"

Zadie nodded and leaned her head against JJ's shoulder. "Okay, nana."

The ride to the top of the building, where the VIP room was, took less than a minute, but Zadie clung tight to JJ the entire time. When JJ did set Zadie down after they disembarked, the little girl was discombobulated and walked in a zigzag formation. JJ laughed and took her hand.

"Wow. You really weren't kidding about elevators, were you? Come stick with me."

"Okay, nana." Zadie replied sweetly, very happy to hold JJ's hand.

Luuk chuckled at the sight. "Zadie can't handle elevators, and she also hates airplanes. When we flew to Tokyo last year, we had to give her sleeping medicine."

"Did she sleep through the whole flight?"

"Except for twenty minutes to eat at one point, Zadie slept through the whole flight. _Alice_ was wide awake the _entire_ time."

"What happened after that?" JJ asked incredulously. "When you landed?"

"Alice wanted to play after we got through customs, but then fell asleep by the time we got to the luggage claim. Zadie was wide awake, and couldn't understand why Alice was asleep."

"I flew to France with my family when I was about five, and the same thing happened to me—I wanted to play because I'd slept, but my brother and sister could barely stay awake."

"Jet lag is a funny thing."

Luuk looked to Zadie and Alice, who were waiting patiently for them to start moving.

"Are you ready to go find our spot?"

They looked up at him adoringly. "Yes!"

* * *

The luxury box was a very elaborately decorated room, and just looking around, JJ saw a dining area with a full kitchen and a dining area, where a professional chef was hard at work. There was also a full bar with a bartender, a full pool table, and on Alice's and Zadie's behalf, there was an area off to the side full of toys, books, game-related paraphernalia, two kid-sized armchairs, and a miniature couch. Everything was decorated in Giants and Steelers colors and logos.

This was as much as JJ noticed at first because Alice had already dashed to the front of the room. Zadie was hot on her heels, dragging JJ along by her fingers. They were in an area that featured a few rows of seats facing a big panoramic window that gave them a splendid view of the stadium. Speakers and TVs in the upper corners of the seating area provided sound for what was happening outside. Not too far down the row outside, JJ caught a glimpse of what she supposed was the commentators' box. She was glad to be inside, out of the cold December air.

Everything caused her to flashback to the Steelers-Packers game she'd attended with her father. She remembered it like yesterday because it had been the last major event they'd done together. Perhaps today would be special, just like that day had been.

She returned to reality when she realized that Alice and Zadie were looking at her.

"What's on your mind?" she asked them.

"What are you thinking?" Zadie said, answering her question with a question.

"About a football game I went to with my papa, a long time ago."

"Who was playing?"

JJ arched an eyebrow. "Zay, how much do you know about football?"

"Tons. Who was playing?"

"Pittsburgh, like today, and they were playing against Green Bay. Pittsburgh won."

"Cool!"

"What was your papa's name?" Alice chimed in.

"Ezekiel."

"Nana," Alice took JJ's hand in hers. "Maybe just for today, your papa could be Opa."

"What about me?" came a new voice.

They turned to see Luuk walking up to them. When he saw the far-away look in JJ's eyes, he helped them out of her coats.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes!" they answered in unison.

"Well, if you go to the little table, you'll find that our new friend Beau has made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, just for you two!"

This being a favorite food of both little girls, they ran off, leaving Luuk and JJ alone by the picture window.

"What were you and the girls having a conversation about?" Luuk asked.

"Zadie asked me what I was thinking about… You know the game I told you about earlier, on the way here?"

"Yes." Luuk nodded. "Pittsburgh Steelers against Green Bay—you were there with Ezekiel, and I, coincidentally, was there with Jessica because it was our anniversary, and we really love the game."

"I told the kids that I was thinking about that game _because_ I was there with my dad. Alice, bless her, suggested that you could be my dad for the day."

Luuk decided to make JJ an offer. "Since you'll be Aurora's stepmother when you marry Emily, that will make you family even more than it already does. But if you want to make it official, I can look out for you the way a dad does."

JJ almost started to cry. "I'd love that a lot, Luuk, because there was a part of the story that I left out."

"Would you like to share?"

"That last game I went to with my dad was the last one because he passed away from a stroke in his sleep that night. The last thing he told me was that he'd had a great day, and that he loved me."

"I'm sorry about that." Luuk hugged JJ. "It sounds like your father was an amazing guy."

"He was. He really was."

JJ finally began to cry.

Luuk had been expecting this, and not just because JJ was pregnant and hormonal. The whole reason he'd invited JJ to the football game was because he had a feeling that there were some things that she wanted to talk about. A fatherly presence was no doubt the catalyst that she had needed.

"It's quite alright to talk about a family member who's gone, especially a parent." Luuk wiped JJ's tears and took her jacket for her. "I'm sure you heard that a lot."

"Yeah, but I was only ten. My sister died by her own hand a year later." JJ sighed and straightened out the jersey she was wearing, smiling because she was also framing her baby bump. "I heard it a lot, for more years than I wanted to."

"But it's always a good thing to keep in mind when you're feeling down or just reminiscent."

JJ nodded and smiled at him. "You're right, Luuk. Thanks."

"You're very welcome." he hugged her again and then gave her a nudge in the direction of the bathrooms in the corner. "Please go wash up: a few more people will be joining us, and you'll be wanting to look your best."

Immediately, JJ wondered what Luuk had up his sleeve, but she still followed through on his idea.

When she was refreshed and had reemerged, she found that three more people had arrived. The person she saw first was a slightly older woman dressed in a Steelers jersey, blue jeans, and plimsoll shoes in Steelers colors. She had kind face, fair skin, bright green eyes, and long blond hair that was graying slightly. This woman looked like someone you would want to get to know.

In close proximity to her was a woman who was dressed in professional attire, and was very reserved. Like the first woman, she had fair skin, but setting her apart were blue eyes and red hair. JJ wondered what her job was.

She couldn't place her, but she definitely placed the other woman. She was a mystery author whom JJ greatly admired, and whose books she collected.

"Oh, my goodness!" JJ blurted. "Chantal Crane!"

The woman beamed and nodded. "You must be JJ."

"Yes, but how did you know?"

"I've been friends with Luuk and Jessica Van Koek for a very long time, and I'm a guest on Jessica's cooking show every six months."

JJ tried not to blush. "You also write the Wilhelmina Bishop series."

Chantal arched an eyebrow, impressed: she had a bestselling book series to her name that covered the adventures of Wilhelmina Bishop, and her entire journey as a member of law enforcement, all the way to the present day. The series was for older children, but as the character grew, so did the audience. And JJ.

The series' next installment was due out on Christmas Eve, and the release party was going to be at JJ's favorite bookstore in DC. As an early Christmas present, Emily had gotten her an admission ticket to the event.

"How long have you been reading my books, JJ?"

"Since I was ten."

JJ shifted her weight from one foot to the other, nervous. After all, it wasn't every day that you met your personal hero.

"They helped me get through a really rough time. I, uh, lost my father and then my older sister within two years of each other. My older brother gave me a copy of Billie after my father's funeral, and I just couldn't get enough. When he found out how fast I went through it, he bought me the next book immediately. Now it's been seventeen years, and I haven't looked back."

Billie was the first book in the Wilhelmina Bishop series, and Chantal's personal favorite. She hugged JJ and then turned to the woman she'd come in with.

"Corrine?" she called.

The woman stood straighter, upon being addressed. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Where did you put my bag?"

Corrine pointed to a nearby table, and a Gucci bag bedecked with the logo of The Steelers' team logo could be seen, hanging on the back of a chair.

"Right there, ma'am."

"Thank you." Chantal told Corrine. "Please go enjoy yourself."

Corrine bobbed her head in acknowledgment and then made tracks over to where the snacks had been laid out. Chantal and JJ moved to the table where Chantal's bag was.

"Corrine is my driver, and my companion when I travel." she explained as they sat down. "My family prefers hockey, but I invited Corrine because she's also a football fan."

"That was nice of you to extend the invitation."

Chantal nodded and then pulled a thick oversized bubble envelope from her bag, along with a business envelope, too.

"Jessica already knew that I was coming, but she called me last night, and said that a special friend of the family was coming today—one who knows my work."

JJ had mentioned her fondness of Chantal Crane's work to Jessica only the night before. Now she was wondering just how connected the Van Koek family actually was.

"Jessica said that?"

"Mhm, and she told me exactly _how_ you're connected." Chantal gave JJ's hand an affectionate squeeze. "Will you be coming to my release party on Christmas Eve? It's in DC, and I heard you live there."

"My girlfriend got me a ticket as a present, so yes!"

Chantal tapped the smaller envelope. "Open this first."

JJ did, and she was quite surprised to see two new tickets, both with VIP access!

When JJ looked back to Chantal to thank her, she became even more surprised: Chantal had gotten her pocketbook out, and was writing out a new check.

"What's your girlfriend's name?" Chantal queried. "I want to give her a refund, so she can give the other ticket to someone else, or return it—whatever she wants."

"Her name is Emily Prentiss."

Chantal signed the check with a flourish, and even filled out the memo line before carefully tearing it out and handing it to JJ. She quickly tucked it away, with the party tickets.

"Should I open the bigger envelope now?"

"Yes." Chantal replied.

JJ couldn't imagine what else there could be, so she certainly wasn't expecting to pull out a hardcover of Chantal's new book, much less before it hit the shelves.

"Woah!" JJ exclaimed. "Broken Alley?!"

"Yep." Chantal said eagerly. "What do you think?"

"This is all so amazing, and I'm speechless! Thank you!"

Chantal smiled again and gathered her things up. "Enjoy, dear. I'm going to go check out the food now."

JJ just nodded; she was already reading the back cover of her new book. Chantal was pleased that JJ was happy, so she left quietly.

"Is this chair taken, friend?"

"N—oh, my God!"

Standing before her was none other than Richard Champlain, himself. Hers and her father's favorite football player, her father's favorite example of how working hard, after coming to a new country, could pay off. Ezekiel Jareau had been able to relate very well, because like his hero, he had immigrated from France to Canada, but instead of going down the sports route, he had turned to academia. JJ also knew that Richard happened to own the team that she was rooting for today.

Luckily, she remembered that he had asked her a question.

"The seat isn't taken, sir, no."

Richard smiled and said, "There's no need to call me sir—we're all friends here."

"So you know the Van Koeks?"

"Both the mister and the missus," he spoke with a light French accent, just like the one that JJ's father had had. "But I know Luuk better. It's a long story."

"Do you know Chantal?"

"We actually just met for the first time a few minutes ago, and my kids will be pleased because they've long been fans of hers. She even brought presents for me to give to them." Richard winked at her. "I'm sure that you know I own The Steelers, yes?"

JJ nodded mutely, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that another of her lifetime heroes had casually dropped from the ceiling to talk to her.

"Yes." she replied. "I did know that."

Richard pointed to a plaque on the wall behind JJ. Above it was an action picture of him, while the plaque was inscribed with a short paragraph about his career and accomplishments.

"I own this box, too, and I and my family have a lifetime of free admission to watch games from in here. Actually, my wife is away, filming a movie."

His wife was Michaela McRobbie, a famous Hollywood icon.

"Are your kids here?" JJ asked.

"Mhm. They found Alice and Zadie."

True enough, two little girls in Steelers dresses were sitting with Alice and Zadie, chatting them up.

"Their names are Vera and Megan. They're identical twins, and major football enthusiasts."

JJ continued to watch them. "What did Vera and Megan give to the girls?"

Alice and Zadie had long since finished eating, and were now tearing into gift baskets, full of Steelers gear. They had been presents from Vera and Megan. Even though Alice and Zadie were supporting The Giants, they were squealing with delight over their new things. They even hugged their new friends.

JJ finally turned back to Richard. "I've loved football for my entire life, and the first game I remember going to was when I was the girls' age. It was one of your games, actually."

"Who was playing against us?"

"The 49ers, and it was at Heinz Field. As I recall, the score was 27-24, with your team winning, and everyone was impressed by this, because…"

"It was raining when the game started, and the field was muddy, but by the end of halftime, it began to snow." Richard finished. "I'd never played in conditions like those before."

He looked curiously at JJ.

"How do you remember that?"

"I have a memory like an elephant." JJ said bashfully. "There's also another Pittsburgh game I remember, from seventeen years ago."

"Care to jog an old man's memory?"

"Your team was playing against Green Bay, and the score was 52-10. The weather was perfectly fine, that day, thank goodness."

"And how do you remember _that?"_ Richard asked in fascination. "How old were you?"

JJ told him the story, just as she'd told it to Luuk.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Richard sympathized when she'd finished.

"Me, too, because I wish that he was here right now. My dad's name was Ezekiel, and you were always his favorite football player."

"Please tell me why."

So JJ told him her father's tale of immigration and making a better life. By the end, Richard was deeply moved, and he hugged JJ.

"One moment, please."

He got up and fetched something from the other side of the room. On his return, he placed it in front of JJ. This gift was a gift basket of Steelers things, too, although in pride of place, there was a package wrapped in plain brown paper. Everything else had been arranged around it.

"You'll want to open the package first." Richard gave JJ one last smile. "Enjoy, my friend."

He departed, leaving JJ alone at the table again. JJ plucked the box out of the basket and undid the wrapping to reveal a professional-grade football, signed by Richard. He'd even added his former jersey number—ten.

JJ's heart filled with both gratitude and pure emotion. The football game hadn't started yet, and she already knew that years and years from now—maybe even decades—that she would look back and say that this was going to be one of the best days of her life.

JJ went out into the hallway, out of earshot of what was happening on the luxury box. After taking some deep breaths to calm her mind and to soothe the very wiggly baby in her womb, her thoughts drifted to Emily. _She_ was hanging out with one of her own personal heroes, who had just so happened to adopt her firstborn. JJ wondered what Emily's emotional state was, and if she should call her to check on her.

"JJ?"

She looked around at the sound of her name, and saw Luuk walking up to her.

"Are you okay, my dear?" he asked when he drew level with her.

JJ nodded. "Uh-huh: I'm just very surprised about Chantal and Richard both being here. You knew they were coming, and you didn't say anything?"

"Telling you about them would have ruined the surprise, but getting hold of Chantal was all Jessica. They're best friends, and they tell each other everything."

"All I did was tell Jessica that I've been reading Chantal's books since I was ten." JJ said in a daze. "How connected _are_ you and your wife?"

"Very, but that's another story for another day." Luuk pointed to JJ's hands. "I take it that this was a present from Richard?"

"Oh." JJ said in surprise when she realized that she still had the football. "He signed it with his name and retired jersey number. See?"

She showed Luuk.

"Very nice." he said politely.

"It was in a gift basket of things that I haven't even finished opening yet. Chantal gave me an autograph copy of her next book—it's due out next month. She also gave me tickets to the release party in DC."

"Incredible." said Luuk. "Are you having fun here, then?"

"I really am, Luuk. Thank you for inviting me along today."

"You are most welcome. Would you like to go back inside? More food has been set out."

Right on cue, JJ felt her stomach give an audible rumble. This was followed by the baby going into a wiggle frenzy all over again.

"Yes." JJ laughed. "What did the chef make?"

And they went back inside, with Luuk telling her all about the menu, full of good things that would only add to what was already turning out to be a wonderful day.


	18. Mothers Talking

**In chapter 16, while JJ got an invitation to football, Emily got one to go with Jessica and Aurora to Jessica's work. She's a popular and successful chef with her own show, on the Food Network. Also, Aurora's younger siblings are named Juliana, Katrinka, and Maxwell, and they go by Julie, Kitty, and Max for short.**

 **Hopefully, this will be the last of the author's notes to help play catch-up.**

* * *

Across town, Emily was with Jessica and Aurora at Chelsea Market—specifically in the building where Jessica's wildly popular cooking TV show, _Cooking With Jess_ , was filmed. The show had started about two years before Aurora was born, and back then, Emily had watched it from Italy, when she was a teenager. Now that she was in the building, she felt like she had to pinch herself.

"Emily, are you okay?"

She turned to Aurora so she could answer her. "I'm fine, sweetheart. I've just been wanting to come here for a very long time, and I'm trying to keep from pinching myself."

Jessica could tell that something else was afoot, so she stepped in.

"Aurora, will you be a love and go pop into the mail room for me?" she took a key off her keychain and gave it to her. "Please?"

Aurora took the key and stuck it in the front pocket of her purse. "You sure?"

"Yes—I'll take care of Emily."

The woman in question made shooing motions with her hands. "This is me telling you that I'll be fine, and it's both of us asking you to please make like Jessica's errand monkey and run along."

Aurora chuckled at Emily's phrasing, but bowed herself out of the conversation and went back the way they'd come. She needed to take the elevators down to the basement. Good thing she knew the building like the back of her hand.

Jessica beckoned to Emily. "Come on. My office is just around the corner."

They were in a hallway of what looked like different kinds of meeting rooms, and everything was visually appealing. Emily recognized it from the same photoshoot that Jessica had done recently for _Sunset_ magazine that featured photos of her home kitchen, and a long article about her career and accomplishments. Jessica was on the cover of the magazine, too. It was with zero shame that Emily had the issue on her bedside table at home.

"Come on!"

Emily blushed when she realized that Jessica was calling to her again. She promptly picked up her pace.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Jessica led Emily to a reception area, complete with a secretary working at a desk. Just behind her was a door that led to Jessica's office. When the secretary saw them, she stood, startled.

"I didn't realize you were coming in today, ma'am!" she said apologetically. "I'm sorry!"

"Relax, Ariana." Jessica said kindly. "I'm not here on business today."

Ariana did relax, but she grew politely puzzled. "No? What brings you in to work on a Saturday morning?"

"New family." Jessica put a hand in the small of Emily's back. "Ariana, this is Emily—she's Aurora's biological mother."

Everyone who worked for Jessica knew all of her children and grandchildren, so it was a forgone conclusion that also knew exactly whom amongst the younger Van Koeks had been adopted.

"Oh, wow!" Ariana shook hands with Emily. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Likewise." Emily returned in kind.

Jessica spoke to Ariana again. "We're going to be in my office, and Aurora is off retrieving fan mail from the mail room, so try not to jump out of your skin when she shows up, too."

"Yes, ma'am. Is there anything else that you would like me to make a note of?"

"No business, please, unless it regards Athena, or Vanity Fair. Please return to what you were doing."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ariana sat back down and resumed the paperwork she'd been working on. Once again, Jessica beckoned to Emily.

"This way."

She unlocked the office door and motioned for Emily to step inside first. As Jessica moved around, closing the door behind them and turning on the lights, Emily looked around.

Jessica had a beautiful corner office, and Emily noticed that when her companion took her things and hung them up that just like in the hallway, the office atmosphere was warm and inviting, too—if not more so.

Emily also saw that the walls and shelves were lined with more photos and accolades about accomplishments made both by Jessica, and her cooking 'alter ego,' The Shoestring Gourmet. She had done very well for herself.

Emily then turned to see Jessica at her desk, watching her in amusement. When Jessica indicated for her to sit down, Emily did, quickly.

"How long is long?"

"Pardon?" Emily said.

"Out there, you told Aurora that you've been wanting to come here for a long time." she elaborated. "How long is long?"

"Since the first episode of _Cooking With Jess."_

"Goodness gracious. How old were you?"

Emily blushed. "Thirteen, and living in Italy."

"Amazing. I was barely twenty-one, a newlywed, and still in a daze that I'd been given both a building and the green light to start a cooking show, the year before."

"Now, you've got an empire, and your show broadcasts all over the world, and in as many languages."

"That's right. Someone's been doing their homework."

Emily's blush deepened, but she coughed and stayed the course of the conversation. "Weren't Canada and Italy two of the first places to pick the show up?"

"England, too." Jessica touched the top of her desk absently, next to a cluster of framed family photos. "Your tour of the building is by no means over yet, but the errand we sent Aurora on—it's to collect fan mail."

"So it'll be awhile?" Emily asked in amusement.

"Yes, because she's also going to oversee the bags being put into my van. The guys in the mail room like her, and will do any heavy lifting that she needs." Jessica said. "This is your chance to ask me anything you want."

Emily's heart jumped: ever since they'd arrived at the Van Koek house, she'd been wanting pick Jessica's brain, but there just hadn't been any time.

"When you said the name Athena," Emily blurted. "You didn't mean Athena _Dowell,_ did you?"

Jessica winked. "I did."

Athena Dowell was the head of a major engineering company in the Silicon Valley, and she'd recently graced the covers of both _Wired_ and _Forbes_ magazines.

"Wow. Is she coming, for the show?"

"That remains to be seen. She wants to, but there's a family matter that's pending."

"I see." Emily paused, thinking. "You also mentioned Vanity Fair…"

"They're coming for an interview tomorrow, and who knows?" Jessica winked again. "If things work out, you and JJ could come, too. There's even going to be a photo shoot."

"That would be so much fun. I'll talk to her about it."

Jessica touched the tabletop again. "Keep your questions coming, Emily."

"What made you and Luuk choose Italy, of all places to adopt from?"

"We chose it because it isn't high-profile, and we wanted to give a chance to at least one child who could have been overlooked, otherwise."

"Then how did you know that Aurora was it?"

Jessica smiled at the memories. "We _really_ wanted a baby girl, and she was the only one at the time, in the infant ward. We met her when she saw a week old."

"So she wasn't alone for long…"

"Yep, and the first time I held her, she made happy sounds at me when I spoke to her, and she kept at it until she fell asleep."

"What happened when Luuk held her?"

"Aurora must have been having bad dreams, because she started crying in her sleep. Luuk rubbed her back and told her stories until she became calm again."

"Awww." Emily cooed.

"After that, Aurora fell into such a deep sleep that she began to giggle and smile at us."

"Giggling and smiling in her _sleep?"_

"Yes. It was love at first sight when she was brought to us, but that solidified things."

Emily grinned. "This all makes me so happy. I believed that Aurora would be adopted, but I always wondered how the first meeting would be."

"And now you know." Jessica chirped. "After meeting her and choosing her, it didn't take long to wrap things up, and we were home very quickly."

"That's very lucky." Emily observed. "Isn't the next part of the story finding out that Juliana was on the way?"

"Yep."

Jessica had been told that she wouldn't be able to have biological kids, but in a miracle of miracles, she'd managed to conceive one. Today, this child was Juliana, the sibling who was next in the line-up after Aurora. She'd been born before Aurora's first birthday.

"How long did it take you to find out that she was there?"

"Almost exactly a week after bringing Aurora home. I thought I'd picked up a bug, or something, but nope, that was Julie, being her silly self."

"Wow. I've seen her and Aurora hang out and joke around, but have they always been close?"

"Oh, since the day they met, Emily." Jessica confirmed. "Aurora was always cuddling with my belly and giving it kisses, but when Luuk brought Aurora to the hospital to meet her new sister for the first time, all Aurora wanted to do was cuddle with her."

"That's really special. I'm so glad she's known love right from the start."

Emily sat back in her chair, digesting everything. She was now experiencing peace like she'd never known before, and she loved it. However, this moment with Jessica wasn't over, just yet.

"Do you have any questions for me?" she asked Jessica.

"Where were you born? Aurora told us that your father is a professor at her college, and that your mother is an ambassador?"

"I was born in Kiev, believe it or not."

"Woah, really?" Jessica said in surprise.

Emily nodded. "I moved to London when I was a baby, and we lived there until just after my sixth birthday. After that, we moved to Saudi Arabia."

Emily said this last part with such a straight face that Jessica was taken aback, because a Middle Eastern country was the last the last thing she'd expected to hear.

"Really?" she said again in surprise. "How long were you _there?"_

"Four years. The month we left London, we moved into the ambassadorial residency at the United States embassy in Riyadh."

"Where were you at the end of those for years, then? Rome?"

"Yes, and it was my favorite."

Jessica began connecting the dots. "Were you still fifteen when you came to the states?"

"I was, and it was my first time to the states. I had serious culture shock, but at least I grew up speaking English with my parents."

"Do you speak other languages besides English?"

"There are six others, including Arabic and Italian. After we moved to DC, I became a goth, and it helped to cope with my postpartum depression and the grief of letting Aurora go. Only my parents knew the real me."

"Elizabeth and Harrison, right? Aurora Skyped us after she and Alice visited them."

"Yep, those are my parents, and I would love it if you and Luuk were able to meet them."

"I talk to him, and we'll put a pin that—we have business in DC next month, actually."

"Then that's that. Is there anything else that you want to know?"

"Why _did_ you make the choice to give Aurora up?"

Emily was unabashed and straight-faced as she answered. "I was in the middle of high school, and an irresponsible wild child. I wouldn't have been good for her at all."

"Would you have hurt Aurora?"

"I don't know, but I didn't trust myself to be a mother, and giving her to my parents to raise didn't seem fair because they had busy careers. I cut out my behaviors that would have been harmful while I carried Aurora, but it still took me a month to make the choice that I did because another thought was with me for awhile first."

"No judgements here, but were you considering an abortion?"

"I was, but then I slept on it and changed my mind."

"Who all knows this?"

"Just my parents and JJ. Now, you."

"May I share this with Luuk?"

Emily bobbed her head. "Yes, but no one else."

"You have my word, and I want you to know that this part of the story doesn't change the way I think of you. It won't change Luuk's views either—we've loved you before we even met you _because_ you gave us Aurora. There will never be enough ways to express our thanks and gratitude." Jessica smiled and gave Emily a pat on the hand. "Take a breath."

Emily did, and she offered the older woman a smile. "Thank you. Hearing that takes a heavy load off my shoulders."

"I'm glad, because I have another hard question that Luuk and I have always been curious about. Who is Aurora's father?"

Yet again, Emily felt herself go red. "Honestly, I never knew his name. He was a local boy, a little older than me, and I never saw him again. This doesn't change yours and Luuk's views of me, either, does it?"

"Nope. Why did you choose the name Aurora?"

"She actually almost ended up being called Valentine."

"Since her birthday is on Valentine's Day? That's really cute."

Emily smiled at the compliment. "I named her Aurora Hope because I always hoped for the best future for her—which happened—and the Aurora Borealis was lighting up the sky outside. They're beautiful… just like her."

"Does she know that story?"

"She does, and she loves it. I'm so glad that you and Luuk didn't change her name."

"We couldn't imagine calling her anything else."

Jessica smiled, but then her face bore a vacant expression.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked cautiously.

"Nothing. I've dreamt of having a chat with Aurora's biological mother for twenty-five years, and now I'm just working on taking it all in." Jessica told her. "We were never able to meet Katrinka's and Maxwell's biological parents, you know."

"Aurora told me that their adoptions were closed, and that you didn't even know about Max until you were about to go to Beijing to get Kitty?"

"Definitely true. We were so surprised, but we didn't say no, and we were happy to be getting a son because that was always a spot we wanted filled on our family tree."

"How old were Kitty and Max when you brought them home?"

"Aurora and Julie were already three, so that made Kitty two-and-a-half. Max was a newborn."

Jessica subtly indicated Emily's pregnant middle. She was eleven weeks along now, and she wasn't going to say anything, but it looked like Emily was ahead of schedule because she was showing a little bit.

"Do you and JJ plan on having any more kids?"

Emily glided her hands over her midsection as she felt the baby wiggle.

"God and money permitting, yes. The babies are already siblings because they have the same donor, but we would love it if they had playmates." Emily said. "I did just turn forty this month, so I don't know what my chances will be after this, but JJ still has time because she's twenty-seven and has never been pregnant before now."

"I see." Jessica was unperturbed about JJ being only two years older than Aurora, and she'd had her question answered, so she moved along. "Did you know what Luuk and I are going to be empty nesters in January?"

"No." Emily said in surprise. "I know what Julie and Zadie are moving to DC, but what about the others?"

"Kitty is going to culinary school in Maryland, and Max is graduating early and then moving to Stanford in about a two week stretch. He's going to the Stanford School of Medicine, and got in early; he wants to be a pediatrician." Jessica had a smile on her face, but her eyes became vacant again. "Luuk and I were both born in the same week in January of 1963, and we're forty-six now. Our trip to Italy was not long after our twenty-first birthdays, and we've been parents ever since. Pretty soon, though, there won't be any kids left in the house."

"Does that freak you out?"

"Yes, because we've never not had someone at home with us. We would love to adopt one last time, especially siblings."

Emily arched an eyebrow. "Luuk has become the head of the baking department at one of the best places in all of New York City, and you are successful and wealthy. You've also got four children, and two, almost three grandchildren? You and Luuk really want _more_ kids?"

"We really do, and not just because the house would be empty. We have a lot of love to give."

"Then what's the hold-up?"

"Alice and Zadie would be thrilled, but Aurora, Julie, Kitty, and Max would freak out. They love us, of course, but they think Luuk and I are old—he and I will be the big 5-0 in less than five years, after all."

Jessica shivered at the thought, and then stood.

"I've got something for you."

Emily couldn't possibly imagine what. "Do tell."

From a closet, Jessica retrieved a stack of rectangular gift boxes and placed them on the table.

"Kitty and Max didn't have names when we met them. They _are_ full siblings, but their father died from an overdose before Max was born, and then their mother died in childbirth. Kitty was also an angry little girl because she had a broken leg, and was having trouble getting around. We gave her and Max both fresh starts, and we made sure that she was put into physical therapy, pronto."

"It looks like it worked, because I've seen her both walk and run." Emily remarked.

"It _definitely_ worked, and she she learned to love and be happy. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"That of your adopted kids' biological parents, I'm the only one left."

"Precisely. All we knew about you was your name, because everything else had been blacked out—we didn't even know where you were from, or how old you were."

Jessica pointed to the stack of boxes again.

"Everything in these are labors of love from Luuk and I. Our adopted children have always known that they come from other places, but _you_ are the only one of the parents whom we knew that we would even have the slimmest of chances to meet, so… we put these together for you."

Curious, Emily opened the first box, and when she saw what was inside, her heart tightened with emotion. She looked back up at Jessica in surprise.

"These are bundles of letters? To me?"

"Mhm. The first bundle has a letter each from Luuk and I, chronicling each month of Aurora's life in the first year. After that, we each wrote you a letter on Aurora's birthdays, and there are letters from us for every year, including this year's."

"Oh, my God, Jessica. Thank you."

"There's more. Keep going, Emily."

She pulled out a sturdy oak picture frame with fifteen slots. The first fourteen slots denoted a year in school, from preschool twelfth grade, and they encircled the fifteenth slot, which held a picture of Aurora, as she appeared in the present day. The photo arrangement was a clever to capture age progression.

"Aurora turned out so beautifully." Emily sighed softly. "She also looks just like I did when I was younger. My parents are going to trip out over that when they this."

"Open the next box."

Emily did, and it was to reveal three large scrapbooks. Each had Aurora's name on the cover, along with information about which years of her life each volume contained.

"These have everything from the day we met Aurora, all the way up until this year." Jessica provided.

Emily put the box down, stood, and hugged Jessica close.

"Thank you." she whispered.

Jessica held Emily, and then deepened the hug when Emily started to cry.

"You are _very_ welcome, and we wouldn't be who we are without Aurora. I'm glad that we're getting to know you, too.

The two mothers continued to stand together, hugging.

Meanwhile, Aurora had finished getting all of the new fan mail for Jessica into her van, and when she had everything secured away, she went back to the main office.

"Mom, I—oh…"

Aurora had opened Jessica's office door without any preamble, and was very surprised to see both of her mothers hugging. The one who had chosen her was hugging the one who had given her life. It was beautiful, and she'd always dreamt of this moment.

"Are you two okay?" she asked.

"We're fine." Jessica told her.

"We're just so happy with who you grew up to be. Proud, too." Emily held an arm out. "We love you more than you could possibly ever know, Aurora Hope. Come here so we can hold you, please."

Aurora fell into their embrace immediately, and for a few moments, it felt like she, Jessica, and Emily were the only people in the world.


	19. More Conversations

Jessica and Aurora showed Emily the very studio where Jessica's show was filmed, and more than ever, Emily had to refrain from pinching herself. For her, this was all kinds of sacred ground. Maybe she'd find the words to explain it properly to Jessica one day.

Speaking of whom, Jessica could see that Emily was having a moment, so she was very patient with letting her friend work through the emotional rollercoaster she was on. That being said, she was also extremely proud, just that Emily was in the building. She also introduced her to anyone they met as Aurora's other mother.

Emily liked that a lot.

* * *

After Jessica showed Emily the studio where she filmed everything, they arrived to the publishing division of the building. This was where numerous copies and volumes of Jessica's many, many cookbooks were boxed up and shipped out to bookstores all across the country. Airports, too, so they could be shipped overseas, and to Canada. All aspects of Jessica's empire was booming.

But then, Jessica became lost in thought.

"What's up?" Emily asked her.

"You said you have all of my cookbooks, right?" Jessica replied.

"Yes."

"Can you keep a secret?"

Emily bobbed her head. "I can."

"I'm working on my first autobiography!"

Emily lit up—as a fan of Jessica's, she'd been hoping for such a thing from her for years now.

"Hey, that's really cool." she said sincerely.

Jessica beamed, and then addressed Emily and Aurora both. "I would love to interview both of you for it."

"Really?" Emily and Aurora asked together, surprised.

"Really." Jessica laughed. "I don't know that Julie, Kitty, or Max would want to participate, past donating old family photos, because appearing on _Cooking With Jess_ has been enough for each of them. You two, on the other hand, have unique stories, both together and apart."

This was apparently all the persuasion that Aurora needed because she answered immediately. "I'm down. Emily, what about you?"

"Absolutely." she found herself answering with surprising speed. "When will this be happening?"

"Hopefully, next month. Remember how I said that Luuk and I have business in DC soon?"

"Yes, I remember."

"We're going to be in town for a leadership conference at the embass—what's that look?"

For Emily was now looking a mixture of bemused and anxious.

"My parents are going to be there, and that's the stateside embassy that has always been mother's 'home base,' if you will."

Jessica smirked as the wheels began turning very fast in her head. Reading her like a book, Aurora just tittered.

"Our world just keeps getting smaller, eh, Emily?" quipped Jessica. "If you and JJ are in town, I'm going to borrow you two and Aurora for interviews. Maybe even your parents."

"Then I will move Heaven and earth to make sure we are there."

Aurora chimed in, "I'll make it work, too."

"Then that's that, isn't it?"

Emily nodded. "Yep. Hey, are you okay, Jessica?"

Just for a moment, she had looked a little out of it. But just for a moment.

"I'm alright."

Emily and Aurora spoke in unison a second time. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Jessica laughed again, amused by how in sync the other two were. "Come along now, please. There are more things to see."

* * *

When everything had been said and done, Jessica gave Emily some extra special swag items relating to her show, and to her business. These were things that not just anyone walking through the doors there would receive, so Emily was extra surprised. One of these items was even an autographed copy of Jessica's first cookbook, Not Your Mother's Recipes. This had been the first thing that had introduced to the chef she was now walking astride.

Between the experience of being at a place she'd wanted so badly to visit for twenty-five years, and all the gifts Jessica had given her, Emily's heart was overflowing with gratitude and emotion.

She didn't know what else the day had in store now.

* * *

"Emily, may I come in?"

Aurora had knocked on her closed on her mother's closed before calling out.

They'd since returned from Jessica's work, and Emily now had her nose buried on the letters that had been gifted to her. She'd already made it to the first one regarding Aurora's first birthday.

When she heard her daughter, she responded quickly.

"Of course, Aurora!"

She opened the door, and Emily grew surprised when she saw that Aurora appeared to be toting behind her a deep collapsible wagon, of all things. The depth was just deep enough that from the angle she was at, she couldn't see what was in the wagon bed.

Emily set her letter on the beside table and watched as Aurora park the wagon beside the bed.

"What's in there? Must be a lot, if you had to fetch a wagon."

"The wagon was already in my room. We've used it for pulling Alice and Zadie in, when we took them to the park, or to the zoo together." Aurora bounced slightly on the balls of her feet, clearly nervous about something. "Remember the scrapbooks I showed you when you first got here?"

"The one that contain all of your scholastic achievements, and things? Yes."

Aurora began emptying the contents of the wagon onto the bed—she had with her the scrapbooks she'd just been speaking of. She stacked them neatly in front of Emily, and then spread her arms out over them, in indication.

"I want you and JJ to have these."

Emily's heart jumped. "Are you sure? Don't you want to save these to share with Spencer?"

Aurora smiled kindly, and sat with her mother. "These were made by mom for me to give to my spouse, or to my biological parents, and that got me to thinking."

"Oh?"

"Spencer and I have both known, from the moment that we met that we're going to get married at some point. Because of that, and because of Alice and the baby, we're already making new memories. New memories mean new books to make, and I'm quite creative, so I'm looking forward to that."

Aurora smiled more at Emily, and Emily felt herself turn to putty because her offspring was a mirror for her.

"You have birth to me, and some day, in the not-too-distant future, I'm sure, JJ is going to be my stepmom. _That_ makes _two_ mothers who know Present Day Aurora, but not me as I was, when I was growing up. Not giving you two a chance to get to know whoo I was back then feels a little mean and selfish, and those are the last things I ever want to be to anyone."

Aurora indicated the scrapbooks again.

"These are going to fill in the blanks."

"I love you and your precious, generous heart. Thank you for these." Emily pulled Aurora close and hugged her. "Would you like to look at these again with me?"

"Oh, yes!"

Aurora had said this with such speed that Emily arched an eyebrow. "And just what is the matter with you? Avoiding Jessica?"

She, Emily, and Aurora were the only ones home because everyone else was out.

"I am." Aurora confessed. "She's always been very outgoing, and not just because she's an entertainment personality. Ever since you, JJ, Spencer, Alice, and I got here, though, it's almost like she's been a little bit… _loopy_ with affection. Kind of like she's in an overdrive."

"She's probably just happy that her whole family is home."

Aurora put her hands on her hips. "Emily, I just saw her crying over a commercial on TV that was about _paint samples."_

"Okay, it sounds like you _do_ need to hide from her." Emily moved over and gave the bed a pat. "Come stay in here with me."

Aurora made herself more comfortable, and became visibly relaxed.

Emily picked up a scrapbook at random, and then grinned slyly. This was covered in stickers of skateboards, and things related to them. At the center of the cover was a picture of an elementary-aged Aurora on a bright, sunny day. She was dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers, all in bright patterns that Emily recognized as having been popular in the early 1990s. She also had on a helmet, and guards for her shins, knees, elbows, and wrists. A kid-sized skateboard was beside her on the sidewalk, but what made the picture particularly endearing was that she was wearing sports glasses, and had a larger-than life smile on her face that showcased her two missing front teeth.

In what had been another lifetime ago, Aurora had been a professional skateboarder. Emily just hadn't seen anything about it yet, other than ribbons and trophies.

"What was going on in this photo?" Emily asked. "How old were you?"

"I was eight, and mom took this a few minutes before dad and I left out for a trip, just me and him."

"Where did you go?"

"Montréal." Aurora chirped casually. "It was for a skateboarding competition, and it was my first one out of the country."

"Wow. Did you win anything?"

"I actually had a perfect clean sweep in my division, and took home all of the first place prizes. Things just went awry on the last day."

"How so?" Emily said with some trepidation.

"I didn't have the willpower to turn down a dare, and I tried a trick that I shouldn't have. It earned me a broken arm, and extra time in the children's hospital up there because I needed corrective surgery." Aurora explained casually, like the whole thing hadn't been the big deal that it was. "But I was back on my board the moment the doctor gave the all-clear."

Emily stared.

Aurora laughed at her. "Are you wondering why I'm so casual about it?"

"Uh-huh. And how old were you when you started skateboarding?"

"I was two." Aurora confessed.

"Sweet merciful God above. You totally get the crazy streak from yours truly, but you make it sound like that wasn't your first broken bone!"

Aurora had the sense to try to look nervous. "Well, it wasn't."

"What?!" Emily squawked. "When was your first?!"

"Playing at the park with Julie—we were horsing around, and we ended up with a broken leg, each. We were five."

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose. "Does this mean that you and Julie were kindergarteners with casts?"

"We got them just in time for the first day of school, too."

"You never do _anything_ small, do you, child of mine?"

"I really don't. Things in this particular category include Julie and I getting lost in mom's building, not long after our legs were healed up, and _maybe_ 'accidentally on purpose' turning up in the kitchens."

Emily found herself staring again. She had been a wild child when she was younger, but it sounded like her own daughter had always managed to just toe the line. Emily wasn't sure if she should have been impressed or not. Plus, Aurora was way more gleeful about just the recounting than she should have been.

"I suppose you'll be wanting to hear about what happened, exactly, huh?" she asked.

"You suppose darn right!" Emily cried.

Giggling, Aurora launched into a story that had Emily equal parts flabbergasted and amused.

Once again, though, Emily was thankful and grateful to Luuk and Jessica for raising Aurora to be so happy.


	20. Intermission

Later that night found Emily and JJ filling each other in on their days, and all of the fantastic things that had happened. Everything had been truly magical, and they were both still pinching themselves.

Emily had just been telling JJ what had happened out at Jessica's building when they heard a knock on the open door. Turning, they saw the woman in question standing there.

"Is it alright if I come in?" Jessica asked. "I would like to talk to you two."

JJ waved her over. "Come on over."

Jessica joined them and looked from one woman to the other.

"Have you two filled each other in all that's happened today?"

"I told Emily about everything that happened at football, and she told me most of what happened when she went to work with you."

"Only 'most'?" Jessica asked with an arched eyebrow.

"You said it was a secret!" Emily protested.

Jessica turned to JJ. "It isn't known to the general public yet, but I'm working on my first autobiography."

"Wow!"

"To that end, my dear JJ, I told Emily and Aurora that I want to interview them for it. I'd love to interview you, too."

"Really?" JJ said in surprise.

"Really." Jessica patted her on the knee. "Luuk and I are very well aware that you and Aurora are only two years apart, and that doesn't matter—age is just a number. You are already as much her mother as Emily and I are. Take a breath."

Jessica added that last part when she realized that JJ was wrapped up in a cluster of anxiety. But JJ immediately let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

"Oh, thank you, Jessica."

"You're very welcome. Would you like to be interviewed for the book?"

JJ nodded with zero hesitation. "Yes, please! When will it happen?"

"If everyone's ducks are at least in all the correct ponds, then hopefully very, very soon: Luuk and I are going to a conference at the embassy, during the week of Christmas, and from what I understand, Elizabeth and Harrison will be there, too."

"Oh, really?" JJ looked to Emily, smirking because it was already the first weened of December. "Did you skip that part?"

Emily laughed nervously. "I was going to tell you, but then Jessica showed up."

JJ kissed Emily's cheek. "Smooth."

Jessica smiled in amusement at the couple's interaction and spoke again.

"JJ, did Emily tell you yet that I have an interview and a photoshoot tomorrow for Vanity Fair?"

"Nope. Also in the 'haven't gotten there yet' column."

"Well, it's true, and I mentioned the pair of you when I was talking to the journalist on the phone just now. She wants to meet you both, so she said to bring you along."

"She did?" JJ and Emily said in unison.

"She did, because the interview is about my plans for the future, and since you two fell out of the sky and into Aurora's life the way you did, being friends with you is part of those plans. Will you come? A car is coming around at ten in the morning."

They answered her in unison again. "We're in."

"Fantastic." Jessica praised. "I'll call Melissa back in a minute. She also said to just bring ourselves—everything else is being provided."

"Well, alright." Emily said, eagerly. "Anything else?"

"Yes, actually. Remember how I said Athena Dowell was on the schedule to come film?"

"I do." Emily confirmed as beside her, JJ tried not to fluster at how casually the other two were name-dropping a well-known celebrity. "Did things fall through, like she thought they would?"

"They did, and it leaves a gap now because it's the Christmas special, and I was planning to have her on for most of the hour. If your boss agrees, then how would it be if you both stay an extra day to come film with me, instead?"

JJ liked the sound of this idea and immediately agreed. When she looked over at Emily, it was to see that she was in a transport of joy. What was being offered had been a dream of hers for twenty-five years.

"Yes." Emily found herself saying quickly. "We can make the call now, and one of us will come find you."

"Excellent. By the way, Luuk said to tell you that he and I are going to foot the bill to get you back home, or to wherever your team is."

Emily opened her mouth to say thank you, but was then interrupted by the arrival of a bleary-eyed Alice. She had been asleep down the hall, and was dressed in her favorite bunny pajamas. The comforter from her bed was even in tow. Clearly, she'd woken from a bad dream.

She'd been looking for comfort, but in her half-awake state, it made her stop in her tracks to see three of her nanas gathered together. They waited patiently for her brain and mouth to catch up to her mouth.

 _"Nanas?"_ she asked in surprise.

"Yes, dove." JJ cooed. "Have a bad dream?"

Alice yawned hugely. "Yeah. Where are mommy and daddy?"

"They're out," (which was true; Aurora and Spencer were out on a date) "But opa is home, and me, Nana Emmy, and Oma Jessica are all here on the bed. Would you like to come cuddle?"

Alice nodded. "O-okay."

She clambered up onto the bed, and then rested her head in JJ's lap. Emily spread the blanket over Alice and gave her a back rub.

"Go back to sleep, Alice." she soothed. "It's okay. Just close your eyes."

Alice was already exhausted because of the late hour, so it wasn't long before she fell back asleep. When JJ and Emily were sure that she was asleep, they looked back to Jessica to see that she was watching them fondly.

There was another secret she had to share, and she'd been waiting until the whole family was together again at breakfast in the morning. But… now she couldn't wait. Alice's arrival made it the perfect occasion.

Plus, she could see that just by the way JJ and Emily were looking at her, they were figuring out that there was another item up her sleeve.

So Jessica said, motioning towards Alice, "Luuk and I just found out that we're going to do that all over again."

Emily and JJ both stared in surprise, because that was the last thing they'd expected to hear. They understood exactly what Jessica was driving at, and they were happy, but she'd been so casual about it that she'd succeeded in blindsiding them.

This family really never did anything small. But that's what made it so much fun.

So they hugged her.

"Wow, Jessica!" Emily said enthusiastically. "That's fantastic!"

JJ nodded in agreement. "It is! But when did you find out, though? Aurora and the others haven't said a word!"

"That's because you and Emily are the first to know. I already had a feeling that a little someone was in there," Jessica tickled her middle with her long nails. "But we couldn't get an appointment until this evening, after baseball, and the trip out to Chelsea were done."

"But we didn't notice you guys go," JJ realized said with an air of dawning comprehension. "Because the little kids are asleep, Emily and I have been filling each other in on our day, Aurora and Spencer are out on a date, Kitty and Julie went somewhere together, and Max is out with a friend, if I'm remembering everything correctly."

"That's definitely correct. Very good."

Jessica looked to Emily. The cogs were clearly whirring in her head.

"And _you_ are wondering what I was telling you earlier—about wanting to adopt again?"

"Yes." Emily confessed.

"That was me thinking aloud with an adult besides Luuk. We already knew for a year that we wanted one last child, and that adopting would probably be our best bet. It was just a matter of waiting for the house to be empty."

"Then you took a leap of faith, ahead of schedule?"

Jessica nodded. "We did."

Emily hugged her again. "I'm so happy for you and Luuk. Do you know when you're due?"

"There's no fixed date yet, but the doctor said June." Jessica blew out a breath and smiled. "We were going to tell you two and the kids at breakfast, but since Alice just turned up, I couldn't resist."

"Well, thanks for thinking of us. Is it going to trip Aurora out that she's going to be getting _three_ siblings now?"

"Probably, but she'll come around to it. Julie, Kitty, and Max will, too." Jessica said. "They're all just going to be dramatic about it for awhile, and use the 'we're all over eighteen and over' card."

"Either way, breakfast will be interesting tomorrow."

Beside Emily, JJ just made a humming noise and looked like she was struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Spill, JJ." Emily asked warily.

"I was just thinking that Aurora might actually be getting _four_ siblings instead of three."

"Do you know something I don't?!"

"No, but whoever's in there," she pointed to Emily's almost-noticeable bump. "Just might. You're three weeks behind me, but at least in size, it _looks_ like you're caught up."

"Now you're calling me _fat?!"_ Emily asked, affronted.

"Of course not, no. I'm just observant."

Jessica stood and smoothed out her clothes. "Well, whatever you do, just be careful mentioning the possibility of twins around Aurora."

"She carry big with Alice?" JJ guessed.

"Oh, very, and it was also the height of summer when Alice was born. More than once, Aurora had meltdowns about being hot and uncomfortable."

At this, Emily sobered up. "Then I'll be _very_ careful about how I phrase my words."

"Good call."

Jessica glanced at Alice, who was deep in slumber and picked her up, comforter and all.

"I'll go put Alice back in her bed now, so you can make all the calls you need to."

"Alright." JJ told her. "One of us will find you when we're done."

Jessica took this in stride, and left the room with Alice, closing the door behind them.

When they were gone, JJ turned to Emily. "Now, who's going to call Hotch? You, or me?

Emily looked around, and then grew sheepish. "I left my phone in my purse downstairs, and it's probably dead by now."

"Oh, Emily. You need a new phone, if it keeps dying as often as it does." JJ playfully bumped her girlfriend with one shoulder. "My phone is over on the dresser. Will you please get it for me?"

"You got it."

Emily did as asked, and then laid beside JJ as she called Hotch.

He quite liked the idea of what JJ was telling him, and when she asked if they could stay longer, he said yes.


	21. Breakfast

Sunday mornings in the Van Koek house were always nice.

The family was always busy, but Sundays were the one time of week when they really went out of the way their way to at least have breakfast together. Emily and JJ, along with Jessica and Luuk took up one side of the kitchen table, while Aurora and the others took up the other side. The remains of a large breakfast spread was in the middle of the table, and things had even fallen into a contented lull.

However, nobody got up right away because every other person was too wrapped up in their own thoughts. This made it eerily quiet.

"Okay," Aurora said into the silence. "What's the matter with all of you?"

She was talking directly to her parents—all four of them. Emily and JJ were more transparent than they thought, Jessica's head was in the clouds and she was having a texting marathon with someone, and Luuk was behaving like a giddy schoolboy with a secret.

At the sound of Aurora calling shenanigans, everyone else paused in their breakfast consumption to watch.

"JJ and Emily both look like the cat who ate the canary," Aurora continued. "Mom is texting—at breakfast—and need I remind everyone that this is the same person who still struggles with Skype? Dad looks like he's just fit to burst about something."

Spencer arched an eyebrow at Aurora's parents, equally invested. "Cough it up."

JJ went first. "Emily and I have been invited to stay here another day."

Aurora was taken aback. "Pardon me?"

 _"Athena Dowell_ was meant to come film at the studio with Jessica, for the Christmas special."

"Woah. Then what happened?"

"Things didn't quite work out, and Jessica asked Emily and I if we would like to come, instead."

"I take it that you both said yes?"

JJ bobbed her head. "We did, and there's more."

"Of course there is—because this house is hardly ever still, is it? What's up, now?"

Next to Aurora, Juliana said, jokingly, "Mom, did your Vanity Fair interview get bumped up to today?"

"As a matter of fact, it did. So did the photoshoot."

Juliana almost choked on her coffee, mostly surprised at her mother's casualness and that her wild guess had been right on the money.

"There's another thing on top of that, isn't there?" she inquired.

"The journalist invited Emily and JJ along, too, when I told her about them."

Jessica turned to Aurora.

"I may be technologically inept in some areas, my dear, but I've been texting," she waved her phone at her daughter. "On your behalf. You're on Christmas vacation, right?"

"Right…"

"Then I'll have you know that there are invitations for you to come to the photoshoot, the interview, and to the studio—with all three of your mothers."

Aurora's heart jumped into her throat, and she looked at the other occupants on her side of the table. Spencer, Juliana, Katrinka, and Maxwell each looked over their shoulders. Alice and Zadie just giggled.

Spencer looked back at his girlfriend. "What are you looking at us for?"

"I… don't know…" she admitted.

"If you're worried about one of us feeling jealous, or left out," Katrinka chimed in. "I know that I'm not either of those things."

Juliana nodded in agreement. "Neither am I. You deserve this."

Aurora looked over to Maxwell, who became startled that that she valued his opinion so much at all.

"Hey, Rora—I'm happy you are. Go have fun."

Emboldened, Aurora turned to her mothers. "I'm in. When are the photo shoot and things happening?"

"Well," Jessica glanced at the clock on the stove. "A car is coming at ten…"

"Ten?!" Aurora squawked. "I have to go get ready—it's already past eight-thirty!"

Nearby, Alice had a sudden epiphany. "Does this mean we're staying longer now?"

Spencer filled her in. "You and mommy are, but—"

This was all Alice heard because she turned to Zadie, and they began chattering with each other in rapid-fire Dutch, a habit of theirs when they were excited. Even a non-Dutch speaker could see that the cousins were making plans about what to do with their extra day. They were going so fast that their mothers, and Juliana, Katrinka, and Maxwell were tracking their conversation and beginning to struggle with concealing their amusement.

Emily looked over at Jessica and Luuk. They were also watching their grandchildren, tickled with what was happening. She wondered what they were thinking about, besides that.

A year ago, she had felt incredibly alone. Now, three hundred and sixty-five days later, she was working in an elite division of the FBI, and because of that job, she'd met the absolute love of her life and was building a family with her, and one of her closest friends had met and fallen in love with the daughter she'd thought she'd never see again. She was also sitting in her daughter's parents' kitchen, wondering what all was on their minds at the moment, and wondering when they were going to tell the rest of the family about the biggest piece of news they had yet to share.

A lot had happened in a year, and Emily already found herself subconsciously planning next year's Christmas, where they could all be together somewhere.

Luuk seemed to be on Emily's wavelength, at least, because he blurted, "We have something really special and exciting to share, but I think Jessica should say it."

The Van Koek children and Spencer immediately shifted their attention to the family matriarch. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"In the summertime, I'm going to have a baby!"

Aurora and her siblings each responded by spitting out their drinks in surprise.

"Ha!" Aurora crowed to her sisters and brother as they all began to clean up. "You all owe me twenty dollars!"

Grumbling, her siblings each passed her the bet money from pockets of jeans or shirts. Aurora happily counted and pocketed her winnings. At the end of the table, Zadie heaved a dramatic sigh and handed Alice two rather larger pieces of peach slices off her plate. They were the last pieces left.

Spencer was the only one who remained as cool as a cucumber.

"No dramatics to add?" Jessica teased him.

"Nope. Just my congratulations to pass on." he said cheerfully. "I did have a guess, though."

"Because you study human behavior. When did you guess, then?"

"Within an hour of our arrival here from Penn Station."

Jessica laughed, shaking her head. Then she looked to Aurora.

"What about you?"

"Yesterday." Aurora said simply. "I know I cried about some dumb things when I carried Alice, but _you_ cried through a commercial about _paint samples."_

"And what? You suggested to your brother and sisters that sibling number five could be on the way, and they laughed, so you put money on it?"

"That about sums it up, yes."

By now, Jessica wasn't even bothering to hide her amusement, so she turned her gaze to her granddaughters.

"Alice, did you guess about the baby, like your mommy and daddy did?"

"Yep!" the little girl answered confidently.

"Then you bet Zadie two peach slices that there's a baby in my tummy?"

"I did!"

"Huh." Jessica marveled. "That's amazing."

Zadie finally spoke. "Oma, are you kidding that there's a baby in there?"

"No, my tiny love, I am not kidding. Want to feel?"

She nodded, and crossed around the table to where Jessica was in her seat. Alice followed suit. After a moment of feeling Jessica's baby bump, the little girls both felt satisfied and gave it pats and kisses before leaving the room together.

Trying not to drown in how adorable they were, Aurora turned to Emily and JJ.

"Did you two already know?"

"We did." they answered in unison.

Luuk reminded them of his presence and cleared his throat. "Everyone come give Jessica a hug, and then I suggest everyone who is going out, get ready, pronto."

There was a flurry of activity after that, during which both of the elder Van Koeks got a lot of hugs and congratulations. Emily and JJ tried to help clean up with breakfast, but Luuk wouldn't hear of it because he didn't want them to fall behind in getting ready for the rest of their day.

When their bedroom door was closed behind them, Emily found herself sighing wistfully.

"I know what you're thinking." JJ told her.

"Oh?" From the bed, Emily watched JJ undress and look for clean clothes in her travel bag. "And what would that be?"

"That even though we're both federal agents for the United States government, our lives are still going to be quiet when we leave New York."

JJ sat beside her, in just her underthings. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Emily kissed her girlfriend. "But right now, let's just soak it all in."

So they did.

* * *

 **I promise the next one will be longer, because I have an idea that you'll just love ;)**


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